NATIONAL Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has accused some medical centres and personnel of indulging in organ harvesting in what has become a booming trade in Akwa Ibom state.

The State Zonal Coordinator of NAPTIP, Mr Emmanuel Awhen, made the startling allegation Saturday in Uyo as stakeholders marked the National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2025 themed, ?Strengthening Communities by Connecting the Dots?

Represent by Eme Inionong Ukpabio, Head, Public Enlightenment NAPTIP, Akwa Ibom, Awhen captured that approximately 750,000 to one million children were abducted in Akwa Ibom for trafficking and other exploitative purposes between 2021 and 2024.

Awhen further disclosed the agency?s arrest of one suspect for organ harvesting, having secured 60 convictions of human trafficking offenders under the period in review with 15 cases pending in court.

He said, ?The arrest we had on organ harvesting, the person involved is not an Akwa Ibomite. So when we have such a case, we refer to the mother state the suspect comes from. Ours is just do the job and do a referral to the command that covers the person?s state where justice will take it course.

?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 (Uyo) that are involved in organ harvesting.?

?Between 2021 and 2024, approximately 750,000 to 1 million children have been abducted for trafficking and other exploitative purposes. These often involve victims being forced, coerced, deceived, or manipulated into providing sexual services or labour through abuse of trust, power, or authority.

?The key elements of human trafficking include recruitment, transportation and transfer of victims to different locations. This heinous act can be carried out by individuals, gangs, or organised criminal networks.

?We have had arrests, I cannot count. The arrest we do, we bring them to the office and when we realize 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.?

The state Coordinator, Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), Peace Edem, highlighted the emotional and phycological dangers of human trafficking, calling 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 associated dangers are, first, physical danger, violence and abuse, force labour and rest of them.

?Then there is 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, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Mrs Eno Ime Akpan commended the collaborative efforts of NAPTIP and NACTAL in the fight against human trafficking in Akwa Ibom.

She acknowledged Governor Umo Eno for establishing the ministry which she noted has enhanced the fight against human trafficking, saddled with the responsibility of improving the dignity of humans. (Saturday Vanguard)

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