Nigeria, Oct. 14 -- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has pledged to support key stakeholders in Nigeria's aviation industry to curb human trafficking.

The United Nations said this in a release sent to PREMIUM TIMES and signed by Sylvester Atere, Outreach and Communications Officer of the organisation's office in Nigeria.

Between 2003 and 2016, the UNODC 2018 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons estimates that 20 per cent of the 225,000 (or 1 in 5) victims of human trafficking detected worldwide were trafficked via airplanes.

The UN, in its statement, said it believes airlines, their crew, as well as passengers "have a huge role to play in detecting victims and their traffickers before departure and while on board...