LAGOS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's anti-human trafficking agency said Tuesday that it rescued 459 persons against trafficking in 2016.
Shehu Umar, the northwest commander for the National Agency for the Prohibition for Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) told reporters that 187 males and 272 females were rescued respectively.
He said the agency recorded 4 cases of kidnapping, 19 cases of child labor, and four cases of kidnapping and also arrested 83 suspects.
He added that there were 18 pending cases which were under investigation, noting that the command recorded 13 convictions.
The commander said it had engaged in public awareness creation in the year in order to notify and carry the public along as far trafficking was concerned.
Umar highlighted the challenges faced by the command in 2016, saying that lack of funding was the major problem.
