Five months after its creation in March 2022, the Kwara State command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has secured its first conviction.

The Commander of NAPTIP in the state, Mr Saadu Mustapha Ajara, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Ilorin to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons.

He said the body began operations in the state in March 2022 as a state command carved out of the Osogbo Zonal Command of the agency, which formerly covered Kwara, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo states

According to him, the command hit the ground running as soon as it was created and with the effective collaboration of partners such as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC; Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Social Development and the Zonal Command in Osogbo, the new Command secured its first conviction in July 2022 at the Federal High Court in Ilorin.

“The purpose of marking the Day amongst other reasons is to create awareness on the dangers of the evil being perpetrated by criminal elements called traffickers who lack feelings for fellow humans and the victims by exploiting and subjecting them to untold hardships just for selfish gains,” he stated.

According to him, ” NAPTIP, being a federal government focal agency in the fight against human trafficking is mandated to co-ordinate all efforts geared towards curbing the crime.”