A group of Nigerians in Diaspora said on Friday that the international community and the Nigerian government should step-up strategy to combat trafficking in persons.

Victor Ikoli, a leader of the group, said first responders were those who worked in different fields, such as identifying, supporting, advising and working to provide justice to victims of trafficking.

“We hope that trafficking in persons will end soon, adding,  as a result of the coronavirus restriction, victims are still trapped with traffickers,” Mr. Ikoli said. “We want to partner with the relevant agencies and fight this crime from all fronts.

“We call on the government to step up its strategy and be ahead of the traffickers and urge our members to report any case of trafficking, and to put an end to this human exploitation,” he said, adding that traffickers often target major event destinations and the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar is already a target. 

Thousands of Nigerians are trafficked annually to Europe, Asia and other destinations. The cases have continued to rise despite widespread campaigns against trafficking.

The UN defined reasons people were trafficked to be for exploitation, forced marriage, begging, labour, sexual exploitation, organs removal, selling children and child soldiers.