NAPTIP Raises Alarm Over CSOs Being Used as Fronts for Human Trafficking

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has warned that some civil society organisations (CSOs) are allegedly being used as fronts by human traffickers to gain access to vulnerable communities and traffic children.

The agency said traffickers were taking advantage of communities affected by insecurity, including farmer-herder conflicts, by posing as NGO representatives and offering support to families.

NAPTIP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoye, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during a joint press briefing involving spokespersons of security agencies.

Adekoye said the agency had uncovered cases where suspected traffickers entered troubled communities under the guise of providing education and humanitarian assistance.

He revealed that NAPTIP recently rescued four children in Onitsha, Anambra State, who were allegedly trafficked from Kajuru in Kaduna State in 2023.

According to him, some of the children were found in a high-rise building, while another was rescued from the custody of a nurse at the Federal Medical Centre in Onitsha.

Adekoye said NAPTIP would begin profiling CSOs, especially community-based and faith-based organisations operating in vulnerable areas, to stop criminals from using their reputation to facilitate trafficking.

He said the agency had so far rescued 118 children allegedly trafficked from Nasarawa, Benue and three other states in the North-Central region.

He urged Nigerians to remain alert and report suspicious organisations or individuals attempting to take children away from their families.

The warning follows recent NAPTIP operations in which more than 180 children were reportedly rescued from trafficking networks allegedly operating under the cover of civil society organisations and promising educational support to vulnerable families.

NAPTIP also raised concerns about the growing use of technology in human trafficking, noting that traffickers are using social media to lure young Nigerians with promises of well-paying jobs and better living conditions in Asian countries.