The country director of Youth Alive Foundation (YAF), Udy Akpan, has called on government to address the menace of child trafficking and abuse as an emergency.

Mr Akpan made this advocacy on Friday during a documentary premiere titled “Born to be Sold” at the Silver Bird Galleria, Abuja.

The event was organised by YAF and sponsored by CommonWealth Foundation (CWF) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP).

Mr Akpan said that the issue of child trafficking and abuse was a major challenge which every citizen and government agency needed to treat as a priority in order to eradicate the menace from society.

According to him, the documentary exposes the bedevilling threat of child trafficking and baby factories in Nigeria.

He said that the main cause of child trafficking was poverty and an adoption system that was not working.

On her part, Ogehi Ikeh, the executive director, Ogechi & Sam Ikeh Foundation, said the government should set up a tax force that would ensure the implementation of these laws because laws were not effective until it was fully implemented.

“The government should set up tax forces in the 36 states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory.

“The tax forces should comprise the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, NAPTIP, NDLEA, LSCDC; all these stakeholders will come together, including civil society groups, to ensure that laws that have been signed are implemented.

“I urge Nigerians to speak up; whenever you see something that is not defined, try to report it because if you are not affected, you could be infected,” she said.

Felix Nwaeseni, desk officer, Child Protection Act in the federal ministry of women affairs, said the issue of baby factories in Nigeria had become very worrisome.

He said the federal ministry of women affairs could not afford to keep quiet about it.

“Every child that is born first belongs to the government before the biological father and mother; every child has the right to life and other rights.

“Baby factories in Nigeria are a menace; for a newborn child that is so vulnerable to be taken from his or her parents without the child’s consent is evil, and it needs a rapid response from the government.

“The government needs to take the Social Protection Act to the next level and declare it a national security issue,’’ he said.

Margaret Udo of Girls Power Initiative (GPI) also said the documentary was meant to enlighten the public and create awareness for young people, parents and the government on the ugly trend.

“I know there is a law on trafficking but on the baby factories menace, nobody is saying anything about it.

“The government should make laws and policies specifically for baby factories so that whoever is involved, irrespective of your position in the society, should face the law.

“I also feel that we, as citizens, should try to create awareness and campaigns should be done in schools, churches in the community and every area; people should know the referral platform where they can go to report for proper action to take place.

“The government should create empowerment programmes for young people; if the young ones are empowered with skills and employment, they won’t be willing to give out their baby,” she said.

Ms Udo also appealed to parents to embrace and encourage their female children when they make mistakes of unwanted pregnancy instead of throwing them out.

(NAN)