The Federal Government announced on Wednesday that the Director General of National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Senator Basheer Mohammed has been relieved of his appointment.
The shocking news was disclosed in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Mohammed's abrupt sack comes barely four months after he assumed his new office as the sixth DG of the agency, since its inception in 2004
He was replaced immediately with Hajia Fatima Waziri-Azi, who was a former Head of Department of Public Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.
She has also been described as a Women’s Rights advocate, a campaigner against domestic and sexual-based violence and an expert in Rule of Law.
According to the presidency, Mohammed's disengagement was spurred by the recommendation of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq.
The statement said the minister expressed the “urgent need for the Ministry to intensify efforts on the existing capacity in the NAPTIP to achieve its Key Result Areas as identified.”
Shehu further quoted Hajiya Sadiya as saying that the recommendation of Fatima Waziri-Azi was based on her “pedigree, vast experience and proven track record to drive the agency forward and consolidate on what has been achieved so far.”
