The Ogun State Government has dismissed as untrue the claim by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) that the state is unsafe.

It scorned in its entirety the attempt by NAPTIP to portray the state as a den of ritualists, noting that isolated incidents across the country would not constitute the norm anywhere in the world.

According to a statement signed by the Secretary to Ogun State Government, Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, “The description of the state as the most dangerous place, unsafe, where people disappear without trace is ridiculous in the extreme. Perhaps it is a curious case of mistaken identity.”

“How can Ogun State that is currently attracting the highest number of investments in Nigeria be unsafe? In the last three years, 60 multi-million dollar companies employing thousands of workers have berthed in Ogun as a result of a secure environment created by the administration of Governor Ibikunle Amosun,” the statement said.

Adeoluwa observed further that “All over the world, investors move their resources to the safest place. Many reputable global institutions including the Kleen Foundation and World Bank have declared Ogun one of the very few most investor-friendly states in the country.

The state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has equally won international awards both in Ghana and South Africa for his exemplary leadership in turning the state into a haven of peace and tranquillity. The report credited to NAPTIP therefore stands logic on its head,” Adeoluwa submitted.

The State Government, however, added that it would continue, like other states of the federation, to collaborate with relevant agencies including NAPTIP to stop all forms of trafficking.

The Ogun government statement was a reaction to the story, “Ogun State Holds National Record in Missing Persons, Says NAPTIP”, published on this website. Ogun state, Southwest Nigeria, according to the report, now holds the national record of being the most unsafe, where people disappear without trace.

Arinze Orakwe, the director of public enlightenment NAPTIP disclosed this at a Media Roundtable on Trafficking in Persons organised by the European Union in Calabar, Cross River state.