Given its current status as a source, transit and destination country, Human Trafficking, especially on youths, women and children, has become a major challenge in contemporary Nigeria. The victims of such crimes are either trafficked internally or externally. Internal human trafficking includes the recruitment and transportation of prospective child labourers or house servants and sex workers from rural to urban centers. Individuals who fall victim to external trafficking are recruited for the same purposes regardless of their state of origin or socio-economic status, transported across the Nigerian border and forced to live under slave-like conditions.

To tackle the menace of human trafficking in Nigeria, the government established the National Agency for the Prohibition of trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP). Despite the agency’s efforts to curb this menace, human trafficking in Nigeria remains a serious social problem. NAPTIP’s 2013 data analysis report on human trafficking shows an increasing trend in human trafficking in some states. For example, the documented number of rescued victims of human trafficking from Kaduna state increased from 4 in 2012 to 114 in 2013 while the number of rescued victims from Kano state increased from 59 in 2012 to 148 in 2013. Similar trends were noticed in Anambra, Edo, Ogun and some other states.

In line with its vision of facilitating the emergence of a humane and secure society that corrects and empowers to prevent crime, violence and torture; PRAWA saw the need to bring an end to the problem of human trafficking in Nigeria through the implementation of sustainable initiatives driven by an effective inter-organizational collaboration. Given that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP), is the focal government agency on anti-human trafficking matters in Nigeria, PRAWA will be partnering with the agency, other relevant government institutions and civil society organizations in the implementation of its Anti Human Trafficking project in the following identified endemic states:

• Anambra
• Edo
• Kaduna
• Kano
• Lagos
• Ogun

With support from the Embassy of Netherlands Embassy, the project is aimed at:

• Carrying out series of public sensitization campaigns aimed at reducing human trafficking
• Supporting rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking
• Implementing advocacy visits to the policy makers within the States in order to promote the birth and effective implementation of legislation on empowerment schemes for women and youths

As an initial step towards the implementation of the project, the organisation, from November through December 2014,embarked on visits to the above mentioned States while meetings were held with relevant stakeholders such as NAPTIP, the State Ministries of Education, Gender and Women Affairs, and Youths and Sports as well as civil society organizations.

Recognising that the achievement of societal safety is a mandate shared by both the Nigerian government and its citizens, PRAWA is calling us all to join hands in tackling this menace to the society called human trafficking by

SAYING NO TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING, CRIME AND TORTURE!!!!!!!!