A bill seeking to prohibit human trafficking and prescribe stiffer penalties for persons involved in it scaled through second reading at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
If passed into law, the bill will repeal the existing Act and re-enact a new one to provide mandatory confinement in addition to payment of fines upon conviction.
The House Leader, Rep. Mulikat Akande-Adeola (PDP-Oyo), who led the debate, said that presently, the law did not address the current realities and ingenuity of criminals involved in trafficking in persons.
“The inadequacies in the current law have created a conducive environment for trafficking in persons in Nigeria as traffickers gets minimal sentences,” she said.
She also said that Nigeria which is a signatory to the protocol on trafficking in persons has been rated as a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking.
“This rating is not because Nigeria does not have institutional and legal framework for tackling the ugly scourge of human trafficking.
“These frameworks are not adequate and do not considerably satisfy the conditions under the United Nations trafficking in persons Protocol,” she said.
She said that the fines currently imposed by the judiciary were usually paid by convicts from the proceeds of trafficking because they were minimal and ineffective.
In adding to the debate, Rep. Beni Lar (PDP-Plateau), who is the Chairperson, House Committee on Human Rights, said that the new law would check trafficking in persons.
She explained that the fight against the scourge in the country had slowed down considerably because of the absence of adequate legislation.
Rep. Raphael Igbokwe (PDP-Imo) urged members to ensure that the law was brought at par with existing ones in other countries in order to check the crime of human trafficking.
Rep. Aisha Modibbo (PDP-Adamawa) said that there was a need to step up the campaign against trafficking in persons in the country.
She said that in spite of awareness campaign, Nigerians were still not aware of the crime.
The bill was referred to the House committees on Human Rights and Justice for further legislative inputs.