By Terna Injua
School administrators in Benue have been urged to partner the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP to reduce the high prevalent rate in the state.
Director General, NAPTIP Hajia Binta Bello made the call during a two day workshop organized by the Agency in collaboration with International Centre for Migration Policy Development, ICMPD and Benue State Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management.
The training was to create awareness and capacity for school principals, vanguard coordinators and Education administrators on the use of tools for the implementation of TIPVAP vanguard under the school anti trafficking education and advocacy project, STEAP.
Represented by the Director Intelligence, Josiah Emerole, the NAPTIP DG said Benue tops the list of cases of Trafficking, hence the need for all stakeholders to collaborate with the agency to fight the crime as the agency is committed to deal with the crime.
Declaring the event open, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management, Mrs Helen Numativ, lamented that Trafficking has become an illegal international business with Benue as a fertile ground for the criminals due to the increasing cases of attacks and commended the organisers for the intervention and awareness creation and reaffirmed the support of the state Government to checking the menace.
Project Manager Schools Anti trafficking, ICMPD office,West Africa, Rhoda Diajohnson, stated that the organization is intervening in five states in Nigeria including Ogun, Delta, Edo, Enugu and Benue states, explaining that Anti trafficking Vanguard is to be established in fifty schools in Benue with ten already inaugurated.
Zonal Commander NAPTIP, Makurdi Zonal Command, Mrs Gloria Bai identified collaboration with ICMPD, CSO’s Schools, Traditional, Religious Leaders, Media, Security and other stakeholders as key in winning the war against trafficking and tasked the principals and school administrators to take the sensitization campaign to the grassroots.
Director of Public Prosecution, Ministry of Justice and Public Order, Mrs Dooshima Ortserga commended efforts of the organizers in equipping the principals and administrators with the basic tools to combat trafficking while Mrs Joy Ijuwo of Okaha Women and Children Development who spoke on behalf of Civil Society Organizations, stated that human trafficking is a grave human rights violation that brings pains to individual and family.
Two participants, Stephen Atume of NKST Secondary School Adikpo and Vanguard Coordinator Saint Annes Secondary School, Otukpo Ene Otache said the training has broadened their knowledge on best ways of handling trafficking issues, and promised to step down the training.#
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