BEVERLY HILLS, CA, November 13, (THEWILL) – Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Human Rights, Hon. Beni Lar, Wednesday called for increased funding for the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Lar, who made the call in Abuja at a news conference, said the agency needed more funding to recruit more personnel to effectively fight human trafficking.
According to her, poor funding of the agency was hampering the effective fight against trafficking in persons in the country.
“To help NAPTIP effectively combat human trafficking, increased funding is required for prosecution, public enlightenment and rehabilitation of victim,” she said.
She noted that human trafficking had become so sophisticated that it required adequate funding to be effectively checked.
“In countries where human trafficking has been successfully tackled, enormous funds have been spent both on preventing and combating the crime,” she said.
The chairman disclosed that the House Committee had collaborated with its Senate counterpart for the amendment of the NAPTIP Act, to broaden the mandate of the agency.
The legislator who lamented the cut in the agency’s operational 2013 budget, urged members of the National Assembly to appropriate more funds for the agency in the 2014 budget.
Lar condemned the recent arrest of 25 Nigerian traffickers by the Spanish Police for trafficking Nigerian women to Spain for prostitution.
According to her, the traffickers belonged to a gang that operated in Nigerian universities.
She said the committee in particular and the House would not fold its arms while innocent Nigerian girls were being trafficked.
In his contribution, the committee’s Deputy Chairman, Hon. Makinde Rotimi (APC-Osun), called for a collective fight against the scourge.
He noted that NAPTIP was operating within limited resources, a situation he described as bad for the image of the country.
He enjoined parents to develop interest in the activities of their children to be able check their movement.
