The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Monday inaugurated its first Anti-Human Trafficking and Violence Against Persons (A.TIPVAP) Vanguard Club at Egor Secondary School.
The inauguration, done in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), is meant to take the fight against human trafficking directly to the youth.
The initiative, which is part of the Schools Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP) is supported by the Kingdom of Netherlands.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Sam Offiah, Zonal Commander, NAPTIP, Benin Zonal Command, said the vanguard club was designed to empower students with knowledge about the tricks and antics deployed by traffickers to lure young people into slavery.
“The aim is to make these students not just aware but also ambassadors, who will educate their peers and families on the dangers of trafficking,” Offiah said.
According to him, human traffickers are adapting to modern technology, shifting their recruitment tactics online where unsuspecting youths are baited with fake job offers, scholarships, or international travel opportunities.
“Online trafficking is on the rise. Traffickers now hide in the dark web, making it harder to trace them.
“But through peer education, we can begin to dismantle their operations from the grassroots,” he said.
In his opening remark, Elvis Ederibhalo, the Edo Coordinator for STEAP under ICMPD, said that the project, which was funded by the Netherlands and running in five pilot states of Edo, Delta, Enugu, Ogun, and the FCT, was built on community empowerment.
“Traffickers are not your friends. They promise heaven and deliver hell.
“What they sell is modern slavery, and no young person should fall victim,” he warned.
Ederibhalo shared a recent example where more than 100 Nigerian girls were repatriated from Côte d’Ivoire under harrowing conditions.
“These girls were lied to, trafficked, and used. Today, they are back in Nigeria, broken and sick. We must stop this from happening to others,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Onaifo Osemwengie, the principal of Egor Secondary School, described the timing of the initiative as crucial.
“There’s no better time than now to address trafficking.
“Our students are the prime targets, and this enlightenment campaign is a lifeline for many of them,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured a drama presentation exposing inherent dangers of trafficking in persons by the students of the school.
In his inaugural address, Nelson Eghaghe, President of the club, said the club would serve as a platform for peer-education, where members would organise discussions, dramas and awareness campaigns to sensitise their school mates and families about the social ill. (NAN)
