No fewer than forty-one persons have been convicted by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, for various forms of human trafficking across the country in the last one year.

According to the agency, three hundred and fifty-nine people had so far been convicted for different offences of human trafficking since fifteen years of its establishment.

Its Director-General, Julie Okah-Donli said this after a road walk to sensitise people against human trafficking in Abuja, saying the agency was now more committed and determined than ever to prosecute anyone involved in human trafficking no matter how highly placed in the society.

Okah-Donli said the agency had now focused attention on those using under-aged children as house helps, pointing out that anyone caught in the act would face the wrath of law.

According to her, there was need for the general public to give the agency relevant information that will lead to arrest of suspects of child trafficking.

She said since she assumed duty as head of the agency, she had been doing more on awareness creation to sensitise people on the danger of human trafficking, emphasising the need to take the sensitisation campaign beyond cities to rural areas where most human trafficking activities take place.

Okah-Donli enjoined international organisations, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders to continue to support the agency to win the war against human trafficking.

Also, Women Arise for Change Initiatives, ha called on governments to provide social benefits and free education for indigent Nigerians to stop them surrendering to traffickers.

The group said in Lagos that trafficking like all other crimes, could only be curtailed with good governance, which gives priority to pro people projects.

President of Women Arise for Change, Joe Okei Odumakin said human trafficking was a crime against humanity and should, henceforth, be treated as such by governments, both locally and internationally, saying they could not continue to subject their children and women to the nefarious practice of human trafficking, while hoping that they could consolidate their future.

The rights activist, urged Nigerians, particularly women and children, to disregard all forms of enticement and promises from syndicates who directly or indirectly engage them in the modern day slavery.

According to her, the culture of silence must also be broken, advising the younger ones, particularly the girl child, to always speak out when approached by the perpetrators of this heinous practice.