President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the Director-General of the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Senator Basheer Mohammed.
The sack of the Director General, though not publicly announced, came less than four months after he was appointed to head the agency.
A statement on Wednesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, only announced that Buhari had approved the appointment of Fatima Waziri-Azi as the replacement.
He said the appointment followed a recommendation of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, who was quoted to have said there is an urgent need for the ministry to intensify on the existing capacity in the NAPTIP in order to achieve its Key Result Areas as identified.
According to Shehu, Hajiya Sadiya recommended Fatima Waziri-Azi based on her “pedigree, vast experience and proven track record to drive the agency forward and consolidate on what has been achieved so far.”
The statement said that Waziri-Azi was a former Head of Department of Public Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, a Women’s Rights advocate, a campaigner against domestic and sexual based violence and an expert in the rule of law.