The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in Jigawa Command rescued 147 victims of human trafficking in the state in 2025.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Tuesday, Mr Abdulkadir Turajo, the state’s NAPTIP Commander, revealed this.
According to Turajo, following extensive counselling, the victims were reunited with their families.
According to him, Hassan Alhassan, a 30-year-old Nigerien from Garin Idi Village, the Niger Republic, was also convicted thanks to the command.
According to the commander, Alhassan was found guilty of trying to transport a male victim from Kano State to Libya via Magarya in Zinder State, Niger Republic, via the Maigatari border in Jigawa.
We have 37 trafficking cases on file. We documented 11 Nigeria Immigration Service border area interceptions and referrals, involving 97 individuals in total,” the commander stated.
He claims that the command carried out 49 sensitisation campaigns in the state’s endemic communities, which included schools, marketplaces, mosques, churches, and motor parks.
In recent years, human trafficking has resurfaced as a contemporary form of slavery.
The use of deceit, coercion, or debt bondage to place or hold someone in forced or bonded labour or in conditions similar to slavery is a crime that encompasses all activities related to the recruitment, transportation (both domestically and internationally), purchase, sale, transfer, and harbouring of individuals.
Through Niger and the Chad-Sudan-Saudi Arabia axis, Jigawa is a source and a major international route for human trafficking to Europe and the Middle East.
In addition, the state is a major source of internal labour trafficking and has a high record of sexual abuse cases.
According to Turajo, “All hands must be on deck to support NAPTIP Jigawa command in order to effectively tackle and address the problems in the state.”
According to him, one of the most dangerous and well-known crimes in the world, human trafficking, poses a threat to public safety and national security.
Additionally, it exacerbates corruption in the public sector, irregular migration, the development of human capital, social disintegration and exclusion, a lack of qualified labour, human degradation, violations of human rights, the spread of diseases, the damage to the nation’s reputation, and diversification into more serious organised crimes like drug trafficking, terrorism, armed conflicts, kidnapping, money laundering, and other related financial crimes.
The commander added that NAPTIP is the main law enforcement organisation of the Federal Government, charged with the difficult mission of preventing human trafficking in the nation.
He enumerated the agency’s primary responsibilities, which include enforcement and administration, coordination of all laws about human trafficking, prevention and eradication of human trafficking, establishment of regulatory and preventive mechanisms, investigation of all human trafficking cases, and protection and assistance to trafficked individuals.
These include awareness and education, international cooperation, legal compliance with bilateral and multilateral treaties and conventions that Nigeria has ratified, cooperation, monitoring trans-border activities related to human trafficking, and enforcement of the 2019 control of activities regulations.
While thanking the commander in particular and the Jigawa government and all of its agencies for their assistance and collaboration. praised Gov. Umar Namadi’s dedication, enthusiasm, and support for the organisation’s fight against human trafficking in the state.
Likewise, the command expresses its appreciation to all of the state’s law enforcement and security organisations.
The collaboration has been positive and has made it easier to combat human trafficking and other related crimes throughout the state.
“We also value the support and collaboration of other important stakeholders, including members of the Jigawa Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce, traditional rulers, religious leaders, the media, and CSOs, particularly those under NACTAL.
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