Commission inaugurates campaign against human trafficking

The Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja has inaugurated an advocacy campaign against human trafficking.

The campaign, supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Nigeria, Palladium and Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) Project, has developed hashtags to drive the advocacy.

These include: #FundNAPTIP, #SayNoToHumanTrafficking, #ConfiscateTraffickingProceeds, designed to counter trafficking in persons objective.

The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Damian Dodo, said trafficking in persons had gone beyond sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, to now include organ harvesting.

According to him, the launch of the hashtags was meant to tackle the menace effectively.

Dodo who described human trafficking as a disgrace to humanity, said government had underfunded relevant agencies responsible for stemming the scourge.

He stressed the need for compensation to victims, increased funding of the focal government agency and prosecution of traffickers.

The chairman also urged government to activate the victims of trafficking trust fund.

Most Rev. Anslem Umoren, Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, who launched #FundNAPTIP, called on government at all levels to address issues of poverty, hunger and unemployment.