Abuja: The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has raised concern over the growing use of mobile phones and digital platforms to carry out trafficking and other forms of abuse. NAPTIP’s Director-General, Hajia Binta Adamu-Bello, delivered the warning on Thursday in Abuja at the DEVATOP TALKAM Human Rights Dialogue and Case Management Forum.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Adamu-Bello said the issues under discussion at the forum were central to strengthening Nigeria’s response to human trafficking and violence against persons. She added that NAPTIP remained fully committed to active partnership with stakeholders to reduce such crimes to the barest minimum.
Adamu-Bello highlighted that the evolution of trafficking patterns has made mobile devices, particularly smartphones, a key tool for luring, exploiting, and assaulting victims, including women, children, and increasingly, young boys. She emphasized that no one is safe from emerging online threats.
The NAPTIP Director-General urged participants to reflect on how almost every individual now carries a handset, noting that the same device has become a major channel for recruitment, abuse, and exploitation. She described the trend as alarming and said it underscored the urgency of improving digital safety awareness, strengthening collaboration, and promoting early reporting of suspicious activities.
Adamu-Bello praised the TALKAM Human Rights App, noting that it had gained widespread use globally and was already helping communities report violations more quickly and directly. She urged participants to download the TALKAM App on their phones, emphasizing that widespread adoption of the platform would improve data collection, referrals, and coordinated response.
She reaffirmed NAPTIP’s readiness to support all initiatives that enhance reporting, strengthen community participation, and protect vulnerable groups from exploitation. She assured them that the agency would continue to stand with partners in the fight against trafficking and violence.
In her goodwill message, Aishat Braimah, Project Coordinator for Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), reaffirmed commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s protection systems for migrants and survivors of trafficking, exploitation, and violence. Braimah commended Devatop Centre for African Development and partners, including the German Embassy, for convening the forum, describing it as timely in advancing coordinated and rights-based responses.
She noted that effective case management remains central to safeguarding the dignity, safety, and justice needs of migrants, especially those who have survived exploitation. Braimah added that survivor pathways depend on a well-structured network of first responders, law enforcement actors, service providers, and civil society organizations working together to ensure accountability and comprehensive support.
Braimah stated that the focus of the forum aligns with UNODC’s ongoing collaborations with national institutions and civil society across the country to improve identification, referral, investigation, prosecution, and victim-support systems. She emphasized that the agency’s technical assistance, including capacity building, legislative alignment, and digital innovation, is anchored firmly on a human rights-based approach that prioritizes the most vulnerable.
Speaking on emerging trends, she noted that the digital age presents both opportunities and risks, adding that technology is now used to facilitate various forms of exploitation. However, it is also enabling improved reporting, enhanced coordination, and more accessible support services for victims.
Braimah reiterated UNODC’s commitment to working with government, civil society, development partners, and innovators to build a Nigeria where migrants, survivors, and citizens could access justice and effective protection. The event featured panel discussions on management progress, logistics, skills and funding challenges, and the way forward.