The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dame Julie Okah-Donli, said on Monday that at least 10,500 Nigerians have been rescued from Libya.
This number includes the 3,500 rescued by the Federal Government and over 7,000 repatriated from the North African country by the International Organization for Migration (IMO).
She said the agency has so far recorded 359 convictions against traffickers since inception and 43 this year alone.
The NAPTIP chief added that 10 potential Russia-bound human trafficking victims were rescued at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on their way out of the country.
Address journalists in Abuja at a press conference to mark the agencies 15th anniversary and the 2018 World day against human trafficking, Okah-Donli said NAPTIP has written to the Ministry of Sports, inviting people who returned from the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to report at its office.
She said: “With regards to Libya, so far we gave been able to rescue 3,500, IOM has rescued over 7,000 and it is a work in progress. So giving figures might not be doing justice because almost every week we have returnees to Nigeria. So it is not easy to just pin a figure at it because we may get a plane tomorrow or next.
“For the reintegration of the victims, we have 10 shelters. We give them psychosocial support, those who want to go to school were given the opportunity and those who want to acquire some skills, they do that. We reintegrate them back into the society at the end of the day.”
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