Human Trafficking: Canada donates vehicles to Nigeria

The Canadian Government has donated two four-wheel drive vehicles to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to boost the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria. The Canadian Ambassador to Nigeria, Jamie Christoff, officially donated the vehicles to the Director-General of NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, on Wednesday in Abuja. The donation was under the auspices of the capacity-building programming funded by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and delivered by ARK Group, a social enterprise, empowering local communities through sustainable interventions. IRCC, a Canadian government department, is responsible for immigration, refugee protection, and citizenship services, facilitate arrival of immigrants, provide protection to refugees, and promote the value of Canadian citizenship. The ARK Group, which seeks to create greater stability, opportunity and hope for the future, has delivered research and programme interventions in over twenty countries including Nigeria since 2008. Speaking at the ceremony, Christoff said that the gesture marked a significant move to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against human trafficking. “We have to celebrate our joint efforts that are bringing change in raising awareness on issues of human trafficking. “I celebrate the director-general and her team for the efforts deployed in tackling the issue that is really a scourge in any society and that is human trafficking. “What I am very happy to do today before you is to present the director-general with delivery notices and instructions for two-new vehicles that will help deploy NAPTIP staff in investigating human trafficking,” the envoy said. He commended the director-general and her team for successes so far recorded, and explained that the vehicles were rugged to enable NAPTIP personnel reach areas of concern in trafficking. Responding, Waziri-Azi expressed appreciation to the Canadian government for the gesture and promised that the vehicles would judiciously used. “Thank you for all the support we have got from the Canadian embassy, not just these, but even from past years. “This collaboration with NAPTIP started in 2020 during COVID-19. “All the supports we have got so far have been very impactful; it has helped in our work. These are projects that are quantifiable and you can actually see and measure their impact. “We can both agree on the enormity of challenges we face as a country, when it has to do with human trafficking and we remain grateful for the support by the Canadian government. “We hope to keep enhancing our relationship, we are glad to receive these two-brand-new vehicles, which has made our office environment look bigger,” Waziri-Azi said. She said that the organisation’s priority on learning management system had helped enhance capacity of NAPTIP officers, in terms of access to resource materials regardless of the location. The NAPTIP boss further stressed the need for close working relations between Nigeria and Canada to sustain the global fight against human trafficking. (NAN)