A court in Uyo has sentenced three women to two years in prison for attempted sale of a human being. A Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital, has sentenced three women, Emem Udo Etim Okon, Uduak Ekpeyong, and Imaobong Nyong to two years imprisonment for the attempted sale of a human being, an act contrary to sections 21 and 29 of the TIPPEA 2015.
The women were arraigned after being apprehended by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).NAPTIP’s Public Enlightenment Unit works in rural Benue, Kogi, and Edo States, NAPTIP introduced grassroots programs and held its first annual race against human trafficking in Edo State with 5,000 runners in 2009.
See more photos of the suspects below;
The Public Enlightenment Unit of NAPTIP has partnered with Devatop Centre for Africa Development to educate over 5000 women, teenagers, educators and youth on how to prevent human trafficking. In 2015, they supported Devatop Centre for Africa Development to implement a pilot project: “The Academy for Prevention of Human Trafficking and Other Related Matters (TAPHOM)”.The project was initiated to raise anti-human trafficking advocates who will be actively involved in combating human trafficking in their various communities and states.
120 women, youth, educators, law enforcement, legal practitioners, media professionals, health caregivers, and community volunteers from 6 states were trained between July 2015 to May 2016. The participants have been actively involved in preventing human trafficking. The next phase is to establish The Academy for Prevention of Human Trafficking which will focus on training, research, advocacy, counseling and publications.
On the national level, it convened the 2009 Model UN Conference for secondary students with a theme of combating human trafficking. Furthermore, a nine-state tour was launched to establish state working groups against human trafficking. In August 2009, NAPTIP held a stakeholders’ workshop in Kaduna to set program priorities and cost estimates for implementing the National Plan of Action. Nigerian troops undergo mandatory human rights and human trafficking training in preparation for peacekeeping duties abroad. Officials moved to shut down two brothels in Lagos during the first quarter of 2010. At these brothels, authorities rescued 12 females, including six underage victims of trafficking. One property owner was convicted, sentenced to two years in prison, and required to forfeit his hotel.
How do you think Human trafficking can be curbed ?
