A former United Nations Special Rapporteur, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, has urged an end to human trafficking and unsafe migration to stop Nigeria women from abuses.

Ms Ezeilo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, made the call in a statement on Monday in Enugu while reacting to the viral video of young Nigerian girls trafficked for forced prostitution in Ghana.

She attributed factors fuelling human trafficking to include economic challenges, migrant smuggling, unsafe migration and the “japa” syndrome.

According to her, watching the trending video of young Nigerian girls trafficked for forced prostitution to neighbouring Ghana is a stark reminder of the pervasive and cross-border issue of human trafficking or trafficking in persons.

She observed that in Africa, one in every four trafficked persons was a Nigerian, making the country the most affected by trafficking.

“This issue remains prevalent in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Edo State was once considered the epicentre of trafficking in persons but that was no longer the case. Nigerian women, children, and men are vulnerable to transnational or cross-border human trafficking, primarily to Europe and Africa, as well as to other parts of the world, including Asia and the Americas.

“Human trafficking knows no borders. During my time as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, from 2008 to 2014, I encountered Nigerians who were trafficked or living as irregular migrants in nearly 100 countries I visited as part of my global assignments,” Ms Ezeilo said.

She added that the main reasons for the trend included increasing poverty, unemployment, inequality, gender-based violence, lack of access to education, ignorance, conflicts and displacement.

The founder of Women Aid Collective noted that most widespread form of human trafficking was sexual exploitation, accounting for 79 per cent of cases, with girls being the most common victims of sexual exploitation.

“I strongly urge the government at all levels to implement urgent measures to address the root causes, particularly to reduce the vulnerabilities of young girls. Establishing early warning mechanisms is important to identify when girls disappear from school, fail to enroll in school, or live outside of family care. Additionally, we need to address unsuitable working environments that increase the vulnerability of women and children to trafficking,” she said.

The situations, she said, included where girls worked as waitresses in restaurants, hotels and brothels while still under 18 years of age or when they worked as apprentices in specific high-risk jobs and environment

He stated, “End human trafficking and unsafe migration now. Stop the impunity of traffickers through effective prosecution and punishment. Join NAPTIP and other actors, including WACOL, to eradicate human trafficking and unsafe migration in Nigeria.’’

 (NAN)