Human Trafficking To Attract A 10-Year Jail Term

Lawmakers, on Monday, held a public forum as part of efforts to legislate that human trafficking offences in the country will attract a ten-year jail term, while parents or guardians who give out minors without verifying their destination will be criminally liable.

This was disclosed by the chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on human rights, Beni Lar, at the joint public hearing on the bill for an act to repel the trafficking in persons prohibition law and enforcement administration in Abuja.
In her presentation, Beni Lar said, “The bill provides stiffer penalties as fines alone are no longer options for persons convicted of trafficking, they must serve a minimum of ten years sentence, in addition to fines. This bill will also strengthen the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as it will no longer have to rely solely on government for funding.”
The bill, according to Lar, will provide greater integration of counter trafficking strategies by including a wide range of state security agencies and civil society organisations.
“The bill will also seek to broaden the definition of trafficking by including activities such as the procurement or recruitment of any person for organ trafficking,” she added.
Earlier, while declaring the public hearing open, the senate president, David Mark, who was represented by the senate minority whip, Abu Ibrahim, said that NAPTIP has made giant strides in combating human trafficking since its establishment ten years ago.
“I urge NAPTIP to focus on awareness, rescue and protection in the fight against human trafficking. Traffickers have devised new methods of evading arrest so I am urging the public hearing to take into account these emerging trends,” he said.
Also the chairman, senate committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters, Umaru Dahiru, said that the bill seeks to update the act, to provide stiffer penalties to counter trafficking in persons.
In his message, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, assured that the National Assembly will expedite passage of the bill to strengthen NAPTIP in the fight against human trafficking.