7 Die From Edo Traditional Leaders’ Course On Human Trafficking…Nduka
BY ANKELI EMMANUEL, Sokoto
About 7 persons believed to be directly or abetting activities of human trafficking have died in Edo state following course placed on the trade by the traditional leaders of the State, Mr Nduka has divulged.
According to Nduka, the Edo State traditional institution took bold step towards curbing the trend by placing a course on anybody administering oath of secrecy on would-be trafficking victim, covering information about plot to trafficked people or enjoying the status symbol of the crime.
Mr Nduka Nwanwenne, who is the Benin Zonal Commander of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficing in Person (NAPTIP) also debunked insinuations that poverty was the major cause of people falling victims of trafficking, saying no country in the world is immune to poverty.
While noting that some people are equally poor in Europe where most trafficked victims are taken to, Mr Nduka said no one should think that there are gold on the streets of Europe.
Narrating the bitter effects of human trafficking, Mr Nduka listed, loss of life, health risk, trauma, emotional and psychological breakdown, security challenges, dents to nation’s image, social and economic distortions, as well as unwanted pregnancy.
Nduka who was speaking on, “Understanding Basic Concepts In Trafficking In Persons, Root Causes, Emerging Trends and Effects of Trafgicking In Persons” in a 3 Day training organized by Network of Civil Society Organizations Against Child Trafficking, Abuse And Labour (NACTAL) with support from United States Agency for International Development and Nigeria Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (USAID-SCALE) Project, added that lots of those trafficked out of Nigeria die in the Mediterranean Sea without getting to the desired destinations.
“Traffickers are out to get maximum benefits from their victims, hence subjecting them to exploitation”
Continuing, Nduka noted that despite advancement in technology has helped in tracking the trend, he however lamented that same technological advancement is still been used as an easy and fast avenue of recruiting victims via social media platforms.
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Talking of emerging trends in the effects of human trafficking, Mr Nduka said illegal sales of children was equally becoming alarming, and should be checked by urgently steping up more surveillance.
While noting that human trafficking is a multi billion dollar crime, second to drugs, Nduka listed purpose of trafficking to include, sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced labour, organ harvesting, begging ad forced conscription of children as child soldier.
The 3 day training in Benin City has media practitioners drawn from States of Benue, Edo, Enugu, Borno, Lagos, Taraba, Cross River and Sokoto respectively.
Speaking in his opening remarks, the National President of NACTAL, Abdulganiyu Abubakar affirmed that achieving meaningful fight against Trafficking in Person (TIP) would not be possible without genuine media engagement as critical stakeholders.
This, according to him is because the media educate, enlighten, entertain and advocate for better society for all.
He further noted that, the theme of the training, “Improving Coordination and Implementation Capacity of CSOs On Controling Trafficking In Person (CTIP) in Nigeria”.
Abdulganiyu also divulged that NACTAL have trained over 200 agencies ranging from security personnel and others on why they should be critical stakeholders and unrelenting advocates towards ending TIP.
