30th September, 2019
The Benin Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said the command has arrested 19 people for suspected human trafficking.
The Zonal Commander, Mr Nduka Nwanwenne, whose command comprises Edo and Delta, made the disclosure in an interview in Benin on Monday.
Nwanwenne said the suspects were arrested between last July and September.
He said also that the command rescued 32 people suspected to have been trafficked.
The commander said that the zone did not record any conviction since July, noting however, that 42 cases were currently pending in court.
He reiterated the agency’s commitment to stemming the tide of human trafficking through advocacy and sensitisation platforms.
Nwanwnne said that the Director-General of NAPTIP, Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, had held dialogues with communities at Ekpoma, aimed at tackling human trafficking.
He said the choice of Ekpoma was strategic because human trafficking was endemic in Edo Central and that such dialogues would be continuous.