President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Basheer Muhammed and named Fatima Waziri- Azi as replacement.

A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on  Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the change in leadership was sequel to recommendation by Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, who expressed the “urgent need for the ministry to intensify on the existing capacity in the NAPTIP in order to achieve its key result areas as identified.”

Farouq, in recommending Waziri-Azi, lauded her “pedigree, vast experience and proven track record to drive the agency forward and consolidate on what has been achieved so far.”

A former head of department, Public Law, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Waziri-Azi is a woman rights advocate and campaigner against domestic and sexual-based violence.

In May, President Buhari had okayed swapping of positions by two heads of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. The swap, the presidency had explained, was  in order to realises and sustain government’s desire for effective and efficient service delivery in the two organisations.

The president had in December 2020, sacked the Director-General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, and appointed Sulaiman-Ibrahim as replacement.

Ibrahim had taken over from Basheer Garba Mohammed as  Federal Commissioner for National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), while Mohammed was named DG NAPTIP.

Source: The Sun