The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, Hajiya Binta Adamu Bello, says Nigeria’s fight against human trafficking is recording “tangible improvements” as a result of a shift from classroom training to practical, operational mentoring.
Bello stated this at the Annual Steering Committee meeting of the Common Operational Partnership, COP, a France- and Italy-funded counter-trafficking project designed to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to dismantle trafficking and smuggling networks within and beyond its borders.
The DG noted that the project, implemented with support from the European Union, CIVIPOL, France, Italy, and FIAP, has moved beyond theory to impact how the Agency investigates, prosecutes and protects victims.
“The project has moved beyond classroom training to practical operational mentoring, which is exactly the direction capacity development should take,” Bello said.
“The emphasis on institutional strengthening, operational support and criminal justice coordination has produced tangible improvements across the Agency.”
According to her, the real value of the COP project lies not in the number of officers trained, but in the systems built around them.
“The greatest value of this project is not simply the number of officers trained. It is the strengthening of systems, procedures and institutional culture. Better investigations lead to stronger prosecutions. Better coordination leads to improved victim protection. Better partnerships produce better operational outcomes,” she added.
Bello, on behalf of the Government of Nigeria and NAPTIP, expressed appreciation to the European Union and all implementing partners for their continued technical and financial support.
The meeting was chaired in the presence of the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Gautier Mignot, who commended NAPTIP and the COP project team for what he described as an “impactful one-year outing.”
Ambassador Mignot advocated for increased visibility for the project, stressing that intelligence-led operations are critical to disrupting organized criminal networks involved in trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Also in attendance were key stakeholders in the anti-trafficking space, including representatives of the Italian Embassy, French Embassy, International Centre for Migration Policy Development, ICMPD, and CIVIPOL.
The COP project focuses on enhancing inter-agency cooperation, intelligence sharing, and operational capacity of law enforcement to identify, investigate and prosecute traffickers, while also improving victim identification and protection mechanisms.
NAPTIP said it will sustain collaboration with international partners to ensure trafficking networks are dismantled and survivors receive adequate support and justice.
