The Jigawa Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 221 victims of human trafficking in the state within two years.
The State Commander, Mr Abdulladir Turajo, disclosed this during a one-day sensitisation campaign against human trafficking held in Kazaure on Friday.
Turajo said the victims were rescued and reunited with their families following the establishment of the command in July 2023.
According to him, NAPTIP has also secured two convictions and conducted 175 sensitisation programmes across communities, schools, places of worship, motor parks, and markets in Jigawa.
The awareness campaign, organised in collaboration with the Jigawa State Ministry for Local Government and Community Development, is part of a zonal grassroots sensitisation drive for stakeholders in all 27 local government areas of the state.
He explained that the campaign would be executed in three phases—beginning with the Jigawa Northwest zone in Kazaure, to be followed by the Northeast zone in Hadejia and the Southwest zone in Dutse.
Turajo noted that Jigawa’s location as a major international route has made it a target area for traffickers, stressing that community participation is key to fighting the menace.
“The programme aims to establish partnerships with local communities for effective response through intelligence sharing and timely reporting of trafficking incidents,” he said.
He commended the Jigawa State Government and Governor Umar Namadi for their continued support to the agency’s counter-trafficking operations.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Local Government, Mr Ibrahim Garba, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting NAPTIP in curbing human trafficking across the state.
Garba, represented by the Director of Social Development in the ministry, Mahmud Mukaddas, urged stakeholders to collaborate with the agency to safeguard vulnerable groups.
Also speaking, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Area Commander, Mr Adamu Bashir, appealed to parents and guardians to monitor their children closely to prevent them from falling victim to traffickers’ deceitful recruitment tactics.
The sensitisation exercise marks the first phase of a broader anti-trafficking outreach programme targeting all regions of Jigawa State.
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