The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons says it has secured more than 20 convictions for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence offences and rescued over 3,000 victims since the beginning of 2026.
The agency’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoye, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.
According to Adekoye, three of the convictions resulted in life imprisonment, while rape accounted for a significant proportion of the cases prosecuted.
He said the agency had continued to intensify efforts to rescue victims, arrest suspects and prosecute offenders involved in SGBV-related crimes.
“From January 2026 to now, we have rescued over 3,000 people from critical situations. We have also arrested a whole lot and are prosecuting a whole lot of them,” he said.
Adekoye explained that NAPTIP had strengthened its approach to combating SGBV through closer collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and relevant government ministries, departments and agencies.
He added that the agency was expanding community engagement programmes and training frontline responders to improve prevention, reporting and responses to cases of sexual and gender-based violence.
The NAPTIP spokesman warned perpetrators to desist from such offences, noting that offenders could face prosecution under existing laws, including the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and the amended Cybercrimes Act.
He also referenced international and regional instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Maputo Protocol, as frameworks supporting the protection of victims’ rights.
Adekoye further disclosed that NAPTIP recently inaugurated an SGBV Media Corps to strengthen the role of journalists in combating sexual and gender-based violence.
He urged members of the media to move beyond reporting individual incidents and investigate the social, cultural and institutional factors contributing to the persistence of SGBV.
“We want the media to ask why cases are rising and examine the roles of critical institutions, customs, norms, behaviours and habits in addressing the problem,” he said.
He also called for greater use of victim-centred reporting, stressing the need for journalists to protect survivors’ privacy, dignity and safety while reporting such cases.
“We must protect the victims, ensure their dignity and privacy are protected, and help them regain trust in society,” Adekoye said.
The media corps workshop was organised by NAPTIP and supported by the European Union Support to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programme, implemented by International IDEA.