The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Binta Adamu Bello, has warned Nigerians to be wary of offers that look too good to be true, maintaining that this is one of the tactics human traffickers usually employ to lure unsuspecting members of the public.

Bello said that such job offers, which might sometimes require relocating outside the country, could turn out to be a hoax and a trap set by criminally minded individuals to lure people into forced labour, prostitution, and organ harvesting if not properly verified.

The DG, represented by the Ogun State Commander of NAPTIP, Bosede Jimoh, made this call on Friday while speaking during a school sensitisation programme against human trafficking held at Ajuwon High School in Ifo Local Government Area of the state.

The school sensitisation programme, ably supported by the state government, is being implemented by NAPTIP in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and is funded by the Government of the Netherlands.

No fewer than 30 students of the school were inaugurated as members of the Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Persons Vanguard Club and presented with T-shirts, school bags, and other educational materials.

They were charged to lead advocacy campaigns against human trafficking among their peers, families, and the wider society.

Speaking during the sensitisation, Bello said that schoolchildren should be aware that not only girls but also boys are prime targets of human traffickers.

She explained that “I remember that some time ago, over 80 boys were brought back from Ghana to Nigeria where they were trafficked to and forced to go into cyber crimes, the one we fondly called yahoo, yahoo.

“These boys said that what they were told before leaving Nigeria was that they would be working in a gold mine when they got to Ghana.

“On getting there, they were put in one house with laptops each and were forced to get into cyber crimes until they were successfully repatriated back to the country.

“So both boys and girls are vulnerable and one other lesson to learn here is that we must be wary of offers that look too good to be true.

“We must ask questions and do our findings so that we don’t play into the hands of these dubious people who want to make money at all costs without regard to the law of the land”

The DG said that NAPTIP is embarking on the school sensitisation programme to raise further awareness about the dangers of human trafficking and the need for school-age children, who are usually targeted, to be abreast of the tactics used by traffickers.

She listed various forms of human trafficking, including sextortion, forced labour, and forced prostitution, among others, saying that many victims have either died, had their lofty goals in life aborted, or returned with unwanted pregnancies and incurable diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Bello urged the schoolchildren to always be alert and not hesitate to report any suspected human trafficking activities in and around them to their teachers for urgent intervention.

Speaking with journalists at the event Project Officer of the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Empowerment Project (STEAP), Samuel Okoroji, said that the sensitisation programme, funded by the Netherlands government, is implemented by ICMPD and NAPTIP.

Okoroji explained that the STEAP project is active in five states—Ogun, Benue, Delta, Edo, and Enugu—and aims to reach 50 schools in each state.

He said the Initiative focuses on anti-human trafficking awareness and capacity building for schoolchildren and other stakeholders to combat the menace nationwide.

He added that the four objectives of STEAP include awareness creation, capacity building, building a supportive environment for the protection of victims, and strategic collaboration with all relevant stakeholders.

Okoroji revealed that last year, Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Persons (A-TIPVAP) clubs were set up in 10 schools in the state, while 15 schools are mapped out for February, with 10 schools already visited and their A-TIPVAP clubs inaugurated.

He stated that another five schools in Ogun East would be inaugurated next week, bringing the total number of schools covered to 25, while another set of 25 schools would also be covered before the end of the project next year.

The Coordinator of Ogun State Taskforce on Human Trafficking, Kolawole Shoremi, lauded the state government’s collaboration with NAPTIP and ICMPD, maintaining that it is a synergy pivotal to reducing the menace of human trafficking in the state.

Shoremi said that the human trafficking challenge is undoubtedly enormous in the state, but with heightened sensitisation and enforcement of the law against traffickers, the challenge is not insurmountable.

He explained, “It is against this background that I think that this school sensitisation programme is the right move in the right direction.

“The project is helping to equip our young ones with the information that they need to fight this evil of human trafficking in and around them and I will only urge our young ones to also be ready to say something when they notice anything untoward that suggests signs of human trafficking”. (The PUNCH)

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