The Enugu State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Kingsley Udeh, has reiterated the commitment of the government to prosecute and facilitate the prosecution of human traffickers in the state.
According to him, the commitment was in line with Gov. Peter Mbah’s mission of getting rid of human trafficking in the state, and making it the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living.
Udeh, who is also the State’s Chief Law Officer stated this in Enugu on Monday that he would work with security and law enforcement agencies to ensure that owners of unapproved orphanage homes and brothels used as conduits for human trafficking are exposed and prosecuted.
Udeh stated this during an advocacy meeting he held with the Enugu Zonal Commander, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr Sam Offiah, and his team, at the Ministry of Justice headquarters, Enugu.
He urged the Agency to strengthen the State Task Force Against Human Trafficking, which he is the Chairman, to deal decisively with the menace, and urged relevant stakeholders to draw up an action plan to optimize the performance of the Task Force.
The Commissioner maintained that Mbah’s administration would not tolerate trading in human persons or human organs in any form; warning that anyone caught would be punished, adding that he would issue a fiat to NAPTIP, to enable it to prosecute human traffickers under the State Law.
Earlier, the NAPTIP Zonal Commander, Mr Sam Offiah, said the agency had a shelter, where victims taken from abusive homes and brothels are kept until they are integrated back into the society., saying sheltering victims of human trafficking is part of the agency’s mandate.
He appealed to the Commissioner to assist the agency in securing decent accommodation, as they are currently staying in a rented apartment that is unconducive and insufficient for its operations.
Offiah enumerated other challenges affecting the smooth operations of the Federal Agency in the State to include: lack of logistics (such as vehicles) and operational resources for the running of the agency.
