The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has held workshop for school principals, teachers and vanguard coordinators to strengthen school-based advocacy against human trafficking and related abuses in Enugu.
The workshop was organised in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and sponsored by the Netherland government.
Speaking on Friday in Enugu, the NAPTIP Director-General, Ms Binta Bello, explained that the participants would serve as coordinators and frontline advocates within their schools.
Bello who was represented by the Director Public Enlightenment, Mrs Kehinde Akomolafe, said that the awareness campaign was aimed to equip teachers with the knowledge and tools to disseminate information on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for School Advocacy Campaigns.
“NAPTIP, in partnership with ICMPD, has produced handbooks to guide the inauguration of anti-trafficking advocacy clubs in selected schools across the implementing states which include Benue, Enugu, Ogun, Delta and Edo.
“The idea is to educate teachers on these documents so they can effectively carry out school-level inaugurations and other awareness activities,” Bello added.
The ICMPD Project Manager, Mrs Rhoda Dia-Johnson, reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the nation’s fight against human trafficking through capacity building.
She said that the training was part of the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP).
Dia-Johnson stressed that schools are critical in identifying early warning signs of trafficking and providing safe spaces for children to seek help.
According to her, STEAP aims to make schools safer and more resilient by establishing Vanguard Clubs in 50 schools across each participating state.
“Principals and vanguard coordinators are not just educators; they are frontline defenders of children’s rights.
“Our collective goal is to build a strong network of protection that begins in schools and extends to every corner of society,” she added.
In a goodwill message, the First Secretary Migration, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Abuja, Sib Siebesma, commended NAPTIP for its tireless efforts in combating human trafficking across Nigeria.
Siebesma emphasised that children remain highly vulnerable to trafficking, accounting for more than 75 per cent of identified victims in West Africa and beyond.
He urged school principals, teachers, vanguard coordinators and education administrators to use the training as an opportunity to strengthen their capacity to protect young people within the school system.
Siebesma further assured that the Netherlands, through ICMPD’s STEAP project, would continue to provide financial and technical supports to ensure that more youths are protected from the dangers of human trafficking.
The Enugu State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Nwabueze Mbah, commended NAPTIP and ICMPD for their determination to ensure that human trafficking was eliminated in the state and the country at large.
Mbah, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Patrick Ochie, pledged the state government’s commitment to make schools secured for children without any fear of being trafficked.
Also speaking, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kingsley Udeh, said there was a legal framework in place to deal with suspected human traffickers in the state.
Udeh who was represented by a Director in the Ministry, Mrs Caroline Avah, called for collective actions to deal with the menace, stressing that the government would not shy away from its responsibility of protecting school children in Enugu State.(NAN)
