The Federal Government has mandated
the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), to
carry out a comprehensive screening of all members of Nigeria’s contingent to
the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Head of Press and Public
Relations of NAPTIP, Mrs Stella Nezan disclosed in a statement in Abuja on
Thursday that the step will be taken in order to forestall any incidence of
human trafficking.
Nezan explained that this
development was a fallout of a meeting between Officials of the Federal
Ministry of Youth and Sports led by the Minister, Mr. Solomon Dalung and the
management of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons
(NAPTIP) led by the Director General, Ms Julie Okah – Donli.
She said officials of the embassy
of Russia in Nigeria were also part of the meeting.
“To this end, all members of the
Nigeria Supporters Club, large delegation and other organized bodies are to
submit the list of members traveling to Russia to NAPTIP for screening, after
which a clearance certificate will be issued to enable them travel out of the
country for the soccer fiesta,” she said.
Okah-Donli explained that part of
the plot was to float unregistered football supporters club, unofficial
government delegation, as well as unregistered youth bodies.
She said that they planned to use
these platforms to collect huge sums of money from some desperate youths, with
the promise to ferry them out of Nigeria using the World Cup tournament as a
ploy.
“Already these traffickers have
continued to mount pressure on some youths and their parents forcing them to
part with huge sums of money in exchange for Russian visa.
“One of such cases at hand is
that of a girl from one of the states in the South-South part of the country
(name withheld).
“She reported that a Moscow-based
trafficker has continued to pressure her through her parents in order to
traffic her.
“The trafficker has concluded
plans to airlift her on or before June 5, 2018,” she explained.
Okah-Donli said that the agency’s
detectives were already on the trail of the said parents, while the sister
operatives in Moscow were handling the traffickers.
She warned parents to beware of
persons coming to them to give out their children to be taken abroad within
this period.
“Russia is a country with high
incidence of human trafficking and many Nigerian victims of human trafficking
are held up there, and now seeking assistance to return home.
“Stories from victims of human
trafficking rescued by NAPTIP from Russia in the past are full of pains and
agonies, with few of such victims permanently incapacitated for the rest of
their lives,’’ she said.
Okah-Donli said that NAPTIP would
strategise and work to ensure a World Cup free of human trafficking was
achieved.
Nezan quoted NAPTIP boss as
saying that apart from preparing the fans for the trip through proper
screening, the Agency shall also monitor them on arrival to ensure that they
did not defect.
“Okah-Donli promised to ensure swift screening
and clearance of all intending football supporters knowing fully that the
assignment is time-bound”.
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