Director-general of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Adamu Bello, has declared a tougher era for human traffickers in Nigeria.
She warned that the agency is intensifying its crackdown on trafficking syndicates in the country.
At a press conference in Abuja to flag off the 2025 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Bello said the agency would be scaling up coordination, surveillance and enforcement to dismantle the growing trafficking networks that operate across borders and increasingly through digital platforms.
“It will be very challenging for human traffickers in the country from now,” she said. “We shall increase our coordination mechanisms to empower all state and non-state actors to detect and report issues of human trafficking anywhere in the country.”
She disclosed that NAPTIP has strengthened its cybercrime squad and integrated it with the joint case team on cybercrime under the Federal Ministry of Justice to respond swiftly to the growing trends of online exploitation. The agency, she added, is also deepening collaboration with the intelligence community and other law enforcement agencies to improve surveillance, rescue operations, and interception of both traffickers and victims.
Bello highlighted emerging trends in trafficking that have made the crime more complex and dangerous. She said traffickers now operate through fake jobs and scholarship offers, online loan scams that lead to sexual exploitation, organ harvesting schemes, baby factories, and the use of social media platforms to lure and trap victims.
She noted that many Nigerian youths are being recruited into online scams within Nigeria, Ghana and other parts of West Africa, while cases of sextortion and revenge porn are also on the rise. According to her, traffickers now disguise their operations as legitimate offers or services, making detection more difficult.
Despite these challenges, the NAPTIP boss said the agency is recording progress using its five-point strategy: prevention, protection, policy, partnership and prosecution. She said the agency has intensified awareness campaigns across the country, rescued and rehabilitated victims, strengthened policy frameworks, and expanded collaboration with international and local partners to ensure offenders are brought to justice.
Country representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Nigeria, Mr Cheikh Toure, reaffirmed the UNODC’s solidarity with Nigeria in confronting the scourge of human trafficking.
Toure said this year’s theme, “Human Trafficking is Organised Crime: End the Exploitation”, demands the recognition of the fact that trafficking is not an incidental crime, but a calculated, transnational enterprise profiting from the vulnerability of women, children, and men.
“We must dismantle criminal networks through coordinated, cross-border action, strengthening justice, protecting victims, and holding perpetrators accountable,” he stated.
The UNODC representative noted that trafficking festers where vulnerability is highest in underserved communities, border regions, and among marginalised youth, a fight he said policies alone cannot win. “We must redirect energy and resources to the grassroots: empowering local leaders, traditional institutions, and community networks. The frontline of this battle is where poverty and desperation are exploited,” he stated.
Esther Michael Sawa, who represented the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights at the event, said the commission’s support for NAPTIP goes beyond funding. “It is a partnership grounded in respect, accountability, and a shared vision of a world where every individual is protected.”
She said the UN Human Rights office is proud to stand alongside NAPTIP and all partners in strengthening prevention, enhancing protection and assistance for survivors, and ensuring that traffickers are brought to justice.
The NAPTIP DG announced a lineup of activities to mark the 2025 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which will be observed globally on July 30. These include a sensitisation walk in Abuja and other states where NAPTIP operates, digital conversations with stakeholders, and a national stakeholders’ consultative forum where experts, policymakers, and survivors will examine the theme of this year’s event.
She said the theme, “Human Trafficking is Organised Crime – End the Exploitation,” underscores the link between human trafficking and organised criminal networks, and calls for joint efforts to disrupt their operations and protect victims.
The NAPTIP boss appreciated the support of the federal government, the Office of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Assembly, as well as international organisations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, International Organisation for Migration, International Centre for Migration Policy Development, the European Union, UNHCR, Leadway Assurance, and the governments of Switzerland and the Netherlands.
She urged all stakeholders, including civil society groups, law enforcement agencies and the general public, to work together to defeat what she described as a growing threat to Nigeria’s national security and development.
“Human trafficking is a crime that targets the foundation of our future. We cannot afford to work in silos or allow rivalries to weaken our collective resolve. Together, let us kick human traffickers out of Nigeria,” she said.
We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →
Join Our WhatsApp Channel
