Tuesday, February 6, 2018

NAPTIP engages witchdoctors to fight trafficking –DG

National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said it had engaged some local witchdoctors in Benin, Edo State as ambassadors in fighting human trafficking in the country.
The NAPTIP Director General (DG), Ms Julie Okah-Donli, disclosed this at a symposium for the agency’s officials in Abuja yesterday. Edo State has the highest number of traffickers and victims of
human trafficking in the country. Okah-Donli said investigations revealed that some local witch-doctors were involved or used in the trafficking of persons to Europe.

She said: “When we gathered these witch-doctors recently to sensitize them on what human trafficking victims go through in Europe, they were shocked.

“And they have made their commitments to work with us to fight the menace of human trafficking.” Okah-Donli said that the agency would involve and sensitise more witchdoctors in Edo State and other parts of the country and make them NAPTIP ambassadors in fighting human trafficking.
The DG, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), added that once human traffickers got a victim’s consent by force, fraud or coercion, such person would be made to take oath of secrecy and allegiance before a local witchdoctor in a shrine.  According to her, some rituals are performed on the victim where her urine, pubic hair, finger nails, eye lashes, menstrual blood, underwear and other personal effects are collected.
 NEW TELEGRAPH

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