Under the leadership of Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has saved 21,181 lives over the past two decades.
She revealed this information while defending the 2024 budget before the Senate Committee on Social Duties.
Despite the investment of time and resources required, she assured victims that the organization would do its best to continue providing assistance for as long as they required it.
According to her, victims can get help with things like legal matters, medical treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration through NAPTIP.
In 2022, “NAPTIP rescued and received 2, 748 victims, which was 1,274 more victims that were rescued,” according to Waziri-Azi.
There were 2,200 people that we rescued and helped between January and November of 2023, she continued.
So far, our Lagos shelter has taken in more victims than any other, with Katsina (because to its proximity to the border), Kano, and the FCT shelters following closely behind.
After Imo, Ondo, Edo, and Delta, she claims that Benue State had the highest number of victims rescued in 2021 and 2022.
In addition, she told the committee that the agency had finally succeeded in having a Lebanese man convicted of trafficking and exploiting females from Nigeria.
In 2023, the NAPTIP budget allotted N2 billion to the agency, according to her, but in 2024, the total revenue for the organization was expected to be N3 billion.
In her view, NAPTIP’s reliance on non-profits for its operational activities is unsustainable, she continued.
