By NAN

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) has rescued no fewer than 615 victims of human trafficking in Katsina State from January 2022 to date.

The NAPTIP Commander in the state, Mr Musa Aliyu, revealed this while briefing newsmen on Saturday in Katsina to mark World Day against trafficking in persons.

Aliyu said that NAPTIP received the victims in collaboration with stakeholders from the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Police Force, and the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) operating in the state.

He urged the Nigerian youths not to be deceived by the so-called greener pastures, noting that this year’s theme for the celebration is “Use and Abuse of Technology”.

According to him, the theme focuses on the use of technology as a tool that can enable and impede human trafficking.

The state Coordinator of the Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse, and Labour (NACTAL), Mr Shola Babadiya, described cyber technology as an avenue used by human traffickers to further their nefarious activities under its power of anonymity.

He pointed out that the traffickers use cyber technology to not only mobilise and recruit their victims but also arrange for their transportation and logistics.

Babadiya called on Nigerians to be on alert and always collaborate with NAPTIP to end the act of human trafficking in the state.

The state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Rabi’ah Muhammad, also urged media practitioners to intensify efforts on anti-human trafficking awareness campaigns.

“Especially among the general public on the ills of human trafficking amid the tactics employed by traffickers in luring their victims into their nets,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the news conference was organised by the state Ministry of Women Affairs, NAPTIP and NACTAL.