NAPTIP parades NIPC staff, three others for trafficking, sexual violence-THE SUN

The NAPTIP DG said the suspect parade was part of the Agency’s “name and shame” strategy to end the twin problem of trafficking and violence against persons.

Fred Ezeh, Abuja

National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), on Friday, paraded a staff of Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Francis Yusuf (37), alongside Stephany Isaksoon Bassey (43), Ifeoma Obinwa (37) and Sandra Obiosio (29) for alleged human trafficking, sexual and domestic violence against minors.

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The NIPC staff, Yusuf, was alleged to have sexually violated his wife’s cousin who lives with them in Jikwoyi, Abuja. Stephany was caught the Swedish embassy while she tried to traffick a two-month-old baby, claiming to be its mother.

Obinwa, who claimed to be a health worker, was alleged to have inflicted grievous body injury on her 14-year-old housemaid. NAPTIP officials said she deliberately placed a hot knife on the thigh and buttocks of the housemaid, leaving her with grievous body injuries.

Obiosio and her husband are alleged to have procured a 12-year-old girl from Nasarawa State as a housemaid, and allegedly subjected her to all manner of abuse and ill-treatment that resulted in her being malnourished.

Director General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, who paraded the suspects at NAPTIP headquarters in Abuja, pointed out that the offences violated the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015 (TIPPEA), and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015.

The NAPTIP DG, represented by the Director, Investigation, Josiah Emerole, said that the suspect parade was part of the Agency’s “name and shame” strategy to minimize or end the twin problem of trafficking and violence against persons.

The Agency appealed to parents, particularly mothers, to pay close attention to their daughters, as they are the most vulnerable targets of sexual harassment and violence.