By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has identified Benue State as the current hotspot for human trafficking in Nigeria, overtaking Edo State.
NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Bello, represented by the agency’s Director of Intelligence, Research and Program Development, Josiah Emerole, disclosed this in Makurdi during a two-day workshop for school principals and anti-trafficking vanguards under the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP).
The programme was organised in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
Bello explained that, based on the number of rescued victims and arrested suspects, more Benue indigenes are involved in trafficking cases both within and outside the state.
She attributed the surge to insecurity, which has left many children orphaned and vulnerable to exploitation.
“In many cases, children are sold or taken to work in quarries, with traffickers collecting their wages. We are targeting children early, teaching them to recognise the red flags when approached by traffickers,” she said.
The workshop also marked the inauguration of anti-trafficking clubs in 10 secondary schools in Benue, the first phase of the STEAP project, which will cover 50 schools in total.
NAPTIP’s Zonal Commander in Makurdi, Gloria Bai, said the initiative aims to equip children with knowledge to identify and report trafficking cases, while also sensitising communities through the school vanguards.
Project Manager, Mrs. Rhoda Johnson, said the training includes tools and Standard Operating Procedures developed by NAPTIP to guide principals and vanguard coordinators in combating trafficking within the school system.
Declaring the workshop open, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management, Mrs. Helen Nambativ, noted that repeated attacks by armed herders and terrorists have heightened Benue’s vulnerability to trafficking.
She urged stakeholders to work closely with NAPTIP to ensure the project’s success.
