Live Abundantly, a non-profit organisation, has raised concerns about the use of the Internet and digital platforms to lure and coerce innocent individuals, including children, into human trafficking.
To address this emerging trend, the founder of the organisation, Dr Ama Onyerinma, emphasised the need for all strategic stakeholders, including the global media, to collaborate.
Ama made the call shortly before Tuesday’s “Walk Against Human Trafficking” sensitisation programme, which was organised to commemorate the annual United Nations World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
While celebrating the yearly event, the NGO and its partners took part in a road walk, which started at the Lagos zonal office of the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Person.
The walk started at Oba Ladejobi Street, GRA, Lagos through Computer Village, Ikeja Under Bridge and terminated at NAPTIP’s zonal office.
Shortly before the commencement of the road walk, Ama said, “Today is the day of awareness but I think today should be the day where we work on certain actionable goals to prevent it whilst still increasing awareness. But (we must) also find ways to be accountable for our children and accountability means that we have to safeguard our children and make them a priority.
“They (children) get coerced and there is so much misinformation. Much of these are being done online. The traffickers have taken to online and digitalised platforms to learn and coerce children and adults. There is still much work to be done.
“The significance of this rally is the education of the parents. If we can get more parents and caretakers to recognise the children as a priority and that they should not, under any circumstances, expose them to traffickers, then we would have done just a small percentage.”
The Head of the Lagos Field Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Godwin Bwire, emphasised that human trafficking would persist unless the root causes were directly addressed.
“Human trafficking is a continuous (challenge) in Nigeria because of the vulnerability of its people. We must continue to educate them, support and improve their livelihood. At the end of the day, it mitigates human trafficking. We have to continue to do advocacy,” Bwire said.
In his remarks, the South-West Coordinator of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons, Alex Oturu,
said, “Human trafficking is a significant issue in the context of migration. Many Nigerians are being trafficked both domestically and internationally.
“It is important that we raise awareness on a day like this so that people can have an idea of what is happening. A lot of Nigerians find themselves involved in trafficking without even knowing it.”