ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The Benin Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has sought the support and collaboration of the Bayelsa State government to fight against the trafficking of persons in the zone.
The Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Mr Nduka Nwanwenne, made the request during a courtesy visit to the Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, in Government House, Yenagoa.
Nwanwenne explained that the task of stamping out the menace of human trafficking in the zone, comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states, required the collaboration of different levels and agencies of government to be effective.
He said a lot of public awareness campaigns were needed in the various communities, noting that human traffickers usually enticed unsuspecting young girls with fake promises of securing high-paying jobs in Europe and elsewhere, which only land victims in prostitution and sexual slavery.
He pointed out that human trafficking in Nigeria had taken a new dimension whereby vital body organs of victims were removed after killing them and exported to other countries.
He clarified that out of the three states making up the zone, only Bayelsa was yet to set up its anti-human trafficking task force.
He stressed that the Director General of the agency would in no distant time inaugurate the task force in the state.
Responding to the request for collaboration, Ewhrudjakpo said government was prepared to close ranks with NAPTIP to fight against human trafficking in the state
Ewhrudjakpo, who drew a close relationship between human trafficking and drug abuse, expressed concern that the present level of awareness campaigns on the menace of human trafficking was inadequate.
He called on the NAPTIP to open offices in all the eight local government areas of the state to effectively take the campaign to the grassroots, by involving religious and traditional leaders, public and private schools, and other relevant institutions.
He said government would give all the necessary support to the anti-human trafficking agency in the task ahead, and called for all hands to be on deck.