Featured
Group urges LASG to provide smoke-free public places
The Protecting and Activating Communities (PACT) Against Tobacco, a youth-led initiative, has called on the Lagos State Government to provide smoke-free public places to ensure implementation of the Tobacco Control Act of 2015.
This is contained in a statement in Lagos on Friday by Lagos Lead Officer of PACT, George Adjete,
Adjete urged the government to take decisive action towards a smoke-free future by banning smoking in public spaces and putting up smoke-free signage in all public spaces.
He said PACT gave the advice during the CleanAirNaija Stakeholders’ meeting organised in Lagos, saying the call was to strengthen the implementation of the tobacco.
The reports have it that the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015 regulates all aspects of tobacco control including smoke free places, tobacco advertising, sponsorship, tobacco packaging and labeling.
Adjete said, “Nigeria, according to the reports, has the fourth-highest number of deaths from second hand smoke in Africa, with 27.6 million Nigerians exposed to smoking in public places.
“The urgent need to create smoke-free public places in Lagos State cannot be overemphasised and the government’s response to this call is eagerly awaited.
“Lagos is a pioneer member of C40 Cities, a global network of major cities that work together to address climate change and sustainable environmental practices with a focus on quality air.
“It is important to mention that tobacco smoke is a harmful pollutant because it’s an aerosol full of particles from burning tobacco and additives.
“These particles are numerous than those emitted by an idling diesel engine, to give you an idea, if you smoke three cigarettes, in 30 minutes you emit 10 times more harmful particles than a diesel engine.
“Government officials should converse with young people to enforce laws and implement policies against tobacco misuse, especially in public spaces within the state.”
Adjete added that smoke-free spaces were critical for the health, and economic growth of the nation
“Government should create awareness/campaigns to enlighten people on the dangers of second-hand smoke and avoid further construction of designated smoking areas to avoid indoor smoking,” he said.
Mr Lana Promise , the President of Lagos State University Medical Students Association, also called on government’s agencies saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the tobacco act collaborate with youth-led movements to ensure implementation.
Mr. Babatunde Ajayi, the General Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), said youth engagement, public awareness campaigns were among steps being taken by the state government to address tobacco control.
(NAN)
Featured
NAPTIP Restates Commitment To Fighting Human Trafficking
Joel Ajayi
… decries corruption in law enforcement, weak legislation
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, has pledged the agency’s commitment to fight human trafficking.
Waziri-Azi gave the assurance during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, in Abuja.
The commitment by NAPTIP follows an investigative report by Human Angle Media exposing how many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt are inhumanely treated and exploited by their sponsors.
Represented by the agency’s Director of Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, decried the rising number of Nigerians who are victims of trafficking, pledging that “NAPTIP is fighting on all sides to curb human trafficking.”
Akomolafe disclosed that the agency is aware of the report of Nigerians trafficked to Egypt and has already commenced interventions to rescue them while warning citizens to be wary of “offers that are too good to be true.”
She identified weak legislation, lengthy judicial processes, and corrupt law enforcement officials as factors aiding and abetting trafficking in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world.
“Corruption is endemic and cuts across other countries of the world, and that’s why trafficking is easily perpetrated in Nigeria and around the globe. You find law enforcement officials aiding and abetting traffickers. Some of them know these traffickers from their operations either at the entry or exit point. They give them something or become too familiar with them.
“Apart from the bribery aspect, we also have officials turning a blind eye to trafficking activities, and that’s why for us at the agency (NAPTIP), we are not resting.”
According to her, the agency, from inception, secured 672 convictions, 67 in 2023, and 35 persons so far this year (2024). She added that “NAPTIP is winning the war against trafficking but still wants stiffer punishment for traffickers and the support of the judiciary in hastening cases.
“weak legislation is aiding trafficking. That’s why the agency continues pushing for amendments. Currently, NAPTIP is pushing for stiffer punishment against traffickers that will lead to confiscation of their monies and property.
“NAPTIP Director-General (Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi) is fighting on all sides against human trafficking.
“Where law enforcement officials are found complicit, NAPTIP Director-General does not take it lightly; she doesn’t compromise her anti-corruption stance even when a staff is involved,” Akomolafe stated.
According to the Editor of Southern Operations, Human Angle Media, Kabir Adejumo, many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt engage in forced labour. They are also living in fear as authorities go after illegal immigrants.
Adejumo said victims interviewed during the investigation are willing and interested in returning home, but their sponsors refuse to release their travel passports and threaten to implicate them.
He also revealed that the NAPTIP and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) are aware of the plight of Nigerians trafficked in Egypt and have currently rescued one person.
On her part, the Programme Manager of the Human Angle Foundation, Angela Umoro-David, expressed satisfaction at NAPTIP’s response to trafficking cases while urging the agency to stay on course with their mandate.
Umoro-David called on Nigerians to use a Freedom of Information platform (foi.humananglemedia.com) to help citizens navigate requests for public records from different government parastatals and agencies.
She stressed that the platform “is a website where people can submit their FOI requests to us (Human Angle), and we’ll submit it on their behalf to the particular agency. So we act as middlemen, connecting these government parastatals to the citizens”.
Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.
The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation
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