By Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki
The National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) has lamented the high rate of deaths from trafficking in the country.
The agency said that in 2018 alone, over 20,000 Nigerians were victims of trafficking in Mali alone.
Director General of the agency, Julie Okah-Donli, stated this in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital during the inauguration of the state task force on human trafficking.
According to her, the problem of human trafficking and irregular migration have become a great concern, especially with the large number of Nigerians trapped in sexual and labour exploitation in various African and European countries.
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She noted that hundreds of the country’s citizens die in the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea.
“Last year, reports emerged about the existence of human farms in some parts of Libya where black African migrants are allegedly kept in cages like animals and their organs, like eyes, kidneys and lungs, are harvested to service medical sectors of Europe.
“In December 2018, NAPTIP undertook a fact finding mission to Mali. The report of the mission painted a very gory picture of more than 20,000 young Nigerian girls who are victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation in bush camps around Mali’s mine fields.
“In the first week of March 2019, I personally followed up with a visit to Mali and saw girls as young as 14 years held in sexual slavery in very horrendous conditions,” she said.
