The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has rescued 25 people from Bauchi State whom traffickers took to North Africa.
State coordinator Aliyu Abba Kalli said the agency worked with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on the rescues. The victims had faced trafficking situations in countries including Libya and Morocco.
Kalli said young people accounted for most of the victims. False assurances of better prospects overseas, he explained, had drawn them into journeys that exposed them to exploitation.
The coordinator presented the figures during a two-day workshop reviewing the Bauchi State Youth Policy Development Framework. The state’s Sustainable Development Goals office organised the meeting with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Alongside the rescues, Kalli reported that NAPTIP had logged 70 human trafficking cases in Bauchi between January and October 2026. The agency secured three convictions during that period, while proceedings in other cases continued before the courts.
He also outlined work involving people returning from trafficking situations abroad. NAPTIP and its partners, he said, were gathering information about returned migrants and assisting their reintegration into their communities.
The agency’s investigations extended to complaints about agents allegedly recruiting girls from rural communities for exploitation in cities. Kalli said NAPTIP was working with relevant organisations to protect women, children and others vulnerable to trafficking.
On prevention, he said the agency had taken awareness campaigns to more than 50 communities in Bauchi during the year. Its activities included visits to schools and motor parks, as well as discussions with local stakeholders.
Radio and television programmes also formed part of the outreach, while engagements with women’s groups addressed trafficking and gender-based violence. Kalli identified prevention, protection, prosecution, partnership and policy as the five areas guiding NAPTIP’s response.
He called for cooperation among government institutions, development partners, community leaders and residents to identify trafficking networks and prevent the recruitment of vulnerable people.
Addressing young people, Kalli urged them to explore skills training and economic opportunities available within their communities. He warned that pursuing deceptive offers abroad could expose them to dangerous journeys, trafficking and exploitation.