The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) have raised concerns over emerging trends in human trafficking in Nigeria.

NAPTIP and ICMPD raised the alarm on Tuesday at the unveiling of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Violence Against Persons Vanguard Students Clubs at Ihogbe College and Oba Akenzua II Secondary School in Benin City.

The initiative, an ICMPD’s School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), is being supported by the government of the Netherlands.

Speaking at the event, Sam Offiah, zonal commander of NAPTIP in Benin, said traffickers were increasingly exploiting the digital space to lure young Nigerians into “modern-day” slavery.

“We are seeing an upsurge in internet trafficking. Traffickers now use fake online profiles, phishing tactics, and blackmail with nude photos to manipulate and coerce victims.

“Students are now primary targets, that is why we have taken this campaign straight to the schools,” he said.

Also speaking, Elvis Ederibhalo, the Edo project officer of STEAP for ICMPD, stated that 75 per cent of victims rescued in recent surveys were of school age, adding, “this underscores the need for early intervention.”

“Since traffickers are recruiting directly from schools, we also decided to start from schools. These clubs will not only educate students, they will empower them to educate others,” he said.

Mr Ederibhalo further said the project, currently ongoing in Edo, Delta, Enugu, Ogun, Borno States and the FCT, had completed one year of its four-year cycle.

The project officer said that apart from the students, teachers, and parents were also being trained as stakeholders to tackle the ugly trend.

He said human trafficking issues had already been built into the national curriculum through ICMPD’s collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.

Mr Ederibhalo said the schools involved in the initiative would receive infrastructural support to enforce student participation.

“Sometimes, students get discouraged because there are no basic learning facilities. Through this project, we shall be providing furniture, teaching aids, and other materials,” he said.

In their remarks, the principals of the schools, Ighodaro Egbe and Michael Ipogah, described the project as timely and well-intended.

They said students had become the prime targets of traffickers and expressed the need for awareness to be taken seriously.

(NAN)