The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has intensified sensitisation and awareness campaigns to combat human trafficking and violence against persons across Jigawa.

The state commander of NAPTIP, Abdulkadir Turajo, said this in an interview on Friday in Dutse.

Mr Turajo said the command had expanded community-based awareness programmes, including the inauguration of anti-trafficking and violence against persons vanguards in selected schools across the state.

He said the agency had also strengthened collaboration with the state government, security agencies, civil society organisations, the justice sector and development partners to tackle trafficking more effectively.

The commander described trafficking in persons as a modern form of slavery involving the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons through deception, coercion or exploitation.

“Human trafficking is one of the world’s most hazardous and notorious crimes and is a threat to national security and public safety,” Mr Turajo said.

According to him, the crime fuels corruption, irregular migration, human rights abuses, social exclusion, the spread of diseases and other organised crimes across communities and borders.

He listed related offences linked to trafficking to include drug trafficking, terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering, warning that the activities undermined development and public safety.

Mr Turajo said Jigawa remained a source and major international transit route for human trafficking to Europe and the Middle East through neighbouring countries and migration corridors.

He said the state also recorded cases of sexual exploitation and served as a source of internal trafficking for labour, underscoring the need for sustained interventions.

“It is therefore pertinent that all hands must be on deck to support NAPTIP in order to effectively tackle and address the problems in the state,” he said.

The commander commended the Jigawa State government and development partners for supporting the agency’s interventions aimed at preventing trafficking and protecting vulnerable persons.

He said the support had strengthened gender-inclusive counter-trafficking activities and improved public awareness efforts across communities, schools and other strategic locations in the state.

Mr Turajo urged media organisations to support NAPTIP through sustained public enlightenment campaigns, describing journalists as critical stakeholders in the fight against human trafficking.

“I would like to solicit your support and cooperation in order to ensure that we collectively rid Jigawa of this menace,” Mr Turajo said.

(NAN)