BY NONYE JULIET EKWENUGO
Kaduna
The Provincial Secretariat of Church and Society (HJDP) in collaboration with Pan-African Catholic Theology Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) has sensitised secondary school students and students of Kaduna State University on dangers of human trafficking.
The Coordinator, Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) Catholic archdiocese of Kaduna, Rev. Fr. Raphael Diga during the sensitisation exercise at Rimi college Kaduna explained that public enlightenment is the major way of curbing the menace of human trafficking.
According to Rev Fr. Diga, get-rich-quick syndrome is also driving Nigeria’s high rate of trafficking in persons.
Diga noted that, there is need to increase awareness against human trafficking, saying that the traffickers usually take advantage of the less privileged.
“Human trafficking has become a global issue. Traffickers take advantage of the less privileged, we want people to be aware especially the young girls”.
He noted that sensitisation would enlighten the students on the reality and risk of following traffickers.
Diga however, advised parents against giving out their children to traffickers who lured them with promises of a better life for the children.
“At the end of the day, they lure the children into different forms of immoral acts, such as child labour, child exploitation and sexual exploitation”
He tasked religious leaders and community leaders on sensitisation against human trafficking, adding that all hand must be on deck to curb these menace.
“Religious leaders should take the responsibility of creating more awareness among their members. They should take it upon themselves as their responsibilities to sensitise people”.
Stephen David Abraks from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Kaduna State command raised alarm over rising cases of human trafficking.
He noted that more awareness is needed in the society, adding that young ladies are mostly the victims.
“Women and girls are mostly victims of human trafficking, we had a lot of cases. What is important now is sensitization and awareness, we want people to be aware”.
“The kind of cases we are handling in our organization is pitiful, because human trafficking affect mostly the young children. We have a lot of cases of young ladies being trafficked within the country. We have cases of where some of them were trafficked to Ivory Coast, Mali, Ghana and other neighboring countries”.
He appealed to the students to always called NAPTIP attention, whenever issues of such occurred in their areas.
Abraks however, urged the media, the civil society organizations and faith leaders to be involved in fighting human trafficking.
The beneficiaries, Emmanuella Stanley from St. Monica’s College and Elizabeth Achi from Our lady of Fatima girls secondary school thanked HJDP and NAPTIP for the opportunity and promised to step down the training to other students.
