Sunday, January 12, 2025 - The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, sad it has arrested one suspect in connection with organ harvesting in Akwa Ibom State.
The State Zonal Coordinator of NAPTIP, Emmanuel Awhen revealed this
during a press briefing in Uyo on Saturday to mark the 2025 National Human
Trafficking Awareness Day with the theme “Strengthening Communities by
Connecting the Dots”.
Awhen who was represented by the Head of Public Enlightenment of the
agency, Eme Ukpabio said the suspect though arrested in Akwa Ibom wasn’t from
the state, adding that the suspect had been referred to the mother state.
He also stated that the agency has secured over 60 convictions with over
15 cases still pending determination in federal courts in the state.
“We have had arrests, I cannot count, the arrests that we do, we bring
them to the office and when we realize that most of these cases are not really
human trafficking cases, we send them away. The ones that are arrested and put
in our centres and charged to court are many. We have had over 60 convictions,
between last year and this year we had over 5 convictions.
“The arrest we had on organ harvesting, the person involved is not an
Akwa Ibomite. So when we have such a case, we refer such to the mother state
where the suspect comes from. Our own is just do the job and do a referral to
the command that covers the person’s state where justice will take it course”
Awhen stated.
The zonal coordinator, who noted that organ harvesting has become a
booming trade in the state, disclosed that some clinics and hospitals in Akwa
Ibom are engaged in organ harvesting business.
He added “Organ harvesting is one thing that is very high now. You may
not notice it, some clinics in this town, with due apologies to doctors who are
carrying out legitimate businesses, there are hospitals in this town that are
involved in organ harvesting”.
In his remarks, the state Coordinator of the Network Against Child
Trafficking, Abuse and Labour, Ambassador Peace Edem, who highlighted the
emotional and psychological dangers of human trafficking, called on continuous
sensitization of communities against the dangers
He said, “Different forms of human trafficking have been mentioned– sex
trafficking, labour trafficking and organ trafficking and others. The dangers
associated with these dangers first, is the physical danger, violence and
abuse, force labour and the rest of them, then the emotional and psychological
dangers.
“So, we need to also sensitize our communities against these dangers
because some of them innocently go into it without knowing”
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs Eno Ime Akpan had, in her
remarks, lauded the collaborative efforts of NAPTIP and NACTAL in the fight
against human trafficking in the state, and commended the state governor, Umo
Eno, for establishing the ministry which she noted is saddled with the
responsibility of improving the dignity of humans
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