Agency Launches Anti-Human Trafficking Club In Delta Schools

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has inaugurated five more Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Violence Against Persons Vanguard Clubs in Delta public schools to tackle vulnerability to trafficking.

This brings the total number of the clubs to 15.

The benefiting schools are the schools implementing the Schools Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), funded by the government of Netherlands.

Inaugurating the NAPTIP Vanguard Club at Owa Alero Secondary School, Owa Alero, the zonal commander, NAPTIP Benin Zonal Command in charge of Edo and Delta states, Mr Sam Offiah, said the essence of the club was to involve students in the campaign against human trafficking in school communities.

Offiah urged members of the anti-trafficking vanguard clubs to help sensitize their peers, parents and others about the danger of human trafficking, and to say no to any attempt by traffickers to lure them to be trafficked.

He said those trafficked were exposed to hard labour, sexual exploitation, unwanted pregnancy, risk of contracting sexual diseases, organ harvesting, drowning in sea and sudden death.

The NAPTIP Benin Zonal Commander sensitised the students about the strategies adopted by traffickers to entice innocent young adults, girls and boys which he highlighted to include deception, false promises, fraud, emphasizing that ignorance, illiteracy, greed, poverty, insecurity and instability had been identified as the pushed factors to kidnapping.

Offiah who hinted that NAPTIP had arrested thousands of traffickers, with many prosecuted and sent to jail, urged the students never to fall victim to traffickers’ antics.

‘’NAPTIP is implementing the Schools Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP ) with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, in collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Education.

“For us at NAPTIP, it is to make sure that the incidences of human trafficking are eliminated in our society, especially among the school children because they do fall prey to the antics of the traffickers’’

‘’And for us, coming to the schools, is getting to the grassroots for the students to be well informed about the issues of human trafficking that when the red flags are seen, they should report to the authority, their councilors, and their teachers, and that when NAPTIP receives the information, we rescue victims and apprehend and prosecute traffickers,” he said.

Some members of the newly inaugurated NAPTIP Vanguard Club expressed their preparedness to join the fight against human trafficking in their school communities.

At the Special Education Centre, Agbor, the Zonal Commander hinted that the agency was deeply concerned about the protection of the pupils and students against trafficking, hence the inauguration of Anti-Trafficking Vanguard Club in their school.

The principal of the Special Education Centre, Agbor, Mrs Francisca Chukwudi, thanked NATIP and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development for coming to inaugurate anti trafficking vanguard club in their school.

At Ute- Ukpu Grammer School, Ute- Ukpu in Ika North East local government area of Delta state, the NAPTIP Vanguard Club was inaugurated with commitment by critical stakeholders in the school to ensure that the essence of setting up the club was achieved.

In her presentation, the Delta State Project Officer, Schools Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), Ijeoma David-Ukoko urged members of the vanguard clubs to disseminate the knowledge acquired and be committed to the success of the clubs

Highlights of the inauguration included presentation of textbooks, notebooks on human trafficking and red flags to members of the anti-trafficking vanguard clubs as well as cultural performances by students.