The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Dr. Pius Akutah, has called for inter-agency and multi-sectoral collaborations to combat the rising incidents of human trafficking and stowaways in the nation’s marine and blue economy sector.
Akutah stated that stowaway is a veritable means of transporting victims of human trafficking to other countries.
Akutah stated this on Tuesday while receiving in his Abuja office the leadership of the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the MMS WoFHoF Initiative, who were on a courtesy visit to explore collaboration to combat human trafficking by sea.
Akutah described the menace as transnational organised crime that accounts for a global loss of over $100m annually, adding that the crime started growing in Africa in the last 10 years, taking a dangerous form.
The visit, which was part of the means of rallying relevant agencies, ministries, and stakeholders in the marine and blue economy sector, was facilitated by the MMS WoFHoF Initiative to help combat the menace of human trafficking by sea and gender-based violence.
Speaking further, Akutah stated that he had handled human trafficking cases as a prosecutor for the nation in the past, affirming that the NAPTIP Act of 2003 derived its source from the Transnational Organised Crime Convention 2000, to which Nigeria is a signatory.
“The menace has become something we should all join hands together to combat because it leads to many criminal activities. The maritime sector is not left out of this; stowaway is a veritable means of transporting victims to other countries. You know, before now, they used land transport. Now, stowaways have become a major means of transporting these people, victims, to where they are needed,” Akutah said.
He added that the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, had spoken eloquently and in strong terms against sexual harassment within the sector, especially onboard ships.
“This is one issue that the Minister will take very seriously. As the port economic regulatory agency in the sector, we are concerned about the port economy, and these are criminal activities that also destroy the economy of the port. So, it is also within our mandate to go into this partnership with NAPTIP and your partnering NGO-MMS WoFHoF, and we are committed to that partnership going forward,” Akutah stated.
According to him, within the port sector, many other agencies are very important in this struggle.
Earlier, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Hajia Binta Adamu Bello, who described the NSC as a critical partner, disclosed that due to the intense operational heat on traffickers on the land borders by operatives of NAPTIP, some of the traffickers have now resorted to using the waterways to traffic their victims.
“The shipping, ports, and logistics sectors can play a pivotal role in early detection, prevention, and reporting of trafficking activities, making collaboration between NAPTIP and NSC not only strategic but essential,” she said.
Bello added that the agency is proposing to deepen engagement with the maritime sector in the fight against human trafficking, especially in sensitisation for the identification of potential trafficking cases along the waterways and timely reporting to relevant authorities.
“We propose a collaboration targeting port workers, shipping agents, freight forwarders, crew members, and other maritime stakeholders to identify and report suspected trafficking activities using NSC’s outreach structures, the Nigerian Port Process Manual platforms, and Port Standing Task Team channels to integrate anti-trafficking awareness,” Bello said.
