Traffickers must find it difficult to conduct their hideous business, says Migration adviser

THE Migration Adviser, Swiss Embassy, Manuel Muhlebach has said stakeholders must work to ensure traffickers find it increasingly difficult to conduct their hideous business.

Speaking today at the launch of the Blue Bus Project, Muhlebach said human trafficking remains a low risk, high profit crime which affects the lives of migrants in often the most negative ways.

To him, raising awareness is crucial to prevent more people from falling prey to human traffickers, as it is also clear that a holistic approach is needed to tackle the complex challenge in all its forms.

“For the next six months, the bus will travel to several affected communities in Lagos, Edo and Delta states to raise awareness of the dangers of human trafficking and to help people make better informed decisions related to migration.

“Equipped with audiovisual material and trained NAPTIP staff, the bus will serve as a one-stop shop where vulnerable migrants and community members can access on-the-spot counselling services, where they learn how to report human trafficking cases, and where they can inform themselves on the risks associated with human trafficking and other forms of irregular migration.

“To maximise their outreach, the messages of the Blue Bus will be further amplified on radio, TV and social media as well as through engaging events with community leaders at schools and other strategic locations.

“This is why Switzerland is also supporting the efforts of NAPTIP to develop and implement a new National Action Plan against Human Trafficking. This new Plan is currently being finalized together with all relevant stakeholders from government and civil society. After its completion and adoption, it will guide the interventions and cooperation of national actors at all levels for the next five years.”

The Director General of the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim appreciated the Government of Switzerland for her immeasurable assistance to the agency in various areas of trafficking in persons interventions such as the provision of care and empowerment to victims of trafficking and more recently, the ongoing development of a National Action Plan (2021-2025) and of course, the Blue bus awareness project.

“The Blue Bus Project builds on counter–trafficking experiences in Switzerland and Nigeria having a travelling idea that addresses the challenges and risks associated to human trafficking in the country through the newly established awareness raising bus.

“I must commend the Swiss Government for the epoch making event of the launch of the Blue Bus which will greatly enhance NAPTIP’s efforts to prevent trafficking in persons in Nigeria in over twenty (20) communities in the project States of Lagos, Edo and Delta.

“It is my desire that the Blue bus project takes our messages to all the States of the Federation as no State is spared in the crime of TIP and also to interact with high risk groups/individuals, providing the needed protection they require from falling prey to the antics of the traffickers.”