The Pathfinder Justice Initiative (PJI) is organising a two -day training for law enforcement officers, prosecutors and Judges on investigation of trafficked victims and prosecution of human traffickers in the country.
The workshop is funded by INSighT- Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes to Nigeria, Italy and Sweden.
Speaking on the first day of the training held in Benin on Tuesday, Evon Benson-Idahosa, Executive Director, PJI, said the training was to improve collaboration among agencies tackling human trafficking cases.
She said the training focused on proper investigation and identification of persons that had been a victim of trafficking as well as prosecution of traffickers.
“We want to encourage networking and connection among agencies involved in tackling human trafficking so they can achieve better results.
“The training is also about what is a successful investigation? What are we not utilising as regards successful investigation?
“What is the law on trafficking? What are the steps you should take when it comes to prosecution”, She explained.
Earlier, Chervine Oftadeh, Associate Expert, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said that a baseline assessment conducted by UNDOC in Nigeria in 2020, showed that children constituted half of trafficked victims.
He said the study also showed that there was lack of sufficient cooperation and coordination among the different law enforcement agencies tackling human trafficking in the country.
Meanwhile, participants at the workshop identified court not in session, transfer of judges, withdrawer of cases by trafficked victims, amongst others, as challenges affecting proper handling of human trafficking cases in the country.
