The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has expressed the desire of the 10th House to work with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) towards ending human trafficking and other transborder crimes.

Abbas, who said the House is ready to create enabling laws for NAPTIP to be more efficient, lamented the fate of Nigerians being trafficked to other countries.

The speaker l, who stated this while receiving the management of NAPTIP on a courtesy call at his office on Thursday, congratulated the new Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, on her appointment three months ago.

He described her performance since she assumed leadership of the agency as “wonderful” and “commendable.”

The speaker advised NAPTIP to collaborate with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), religious and traditional leaders as well as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

Speaker Abbas also urged NAPTIP to collaborate with the House Committee on Human Rights and other relevant committees.

Earlier, the DG of NAPTIP noted that the visit was part of the engagements with political leaders. She also stated that “trafficking in person in Nigeria is not just a menace but a crisis.”

Mrs. Bello said Nigeria has become a learning spot for sister countries, as countries are now coming to understudy NAPTIP on tackling human trafficking.

The NAPTIP DG listed some “basic but fundamental challenges” of the agencies to include infrastructure such as shelters, offices and rehabilitation centres, and funding.

While decrying that the budget of NAPTIP was “Very low,” Bello also complained about the inadequacy of the agency’s enabling Act.