Edo Govt. flags off airing of documentary on human trafficking in schools

The Edo Government on Monday flagged off the airing of a 30-minute documentary on ills of human trafficking in all public secondary schools across the 18 local government areas of the state.
An aide to the Edo Governor, Mr Solomon Okoduwa, said at the commencement of the campaign that the documentary was in a bid to checkmate the activities of human traffickers.
Okoduwa, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Anti-Human Trafficking Issues, said the documentary would expose the activities of human traffickers to teenagers in the colleges.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the flag off took place at Oba Ewuare Secondary School, Oko, Benin, with over two hundred students in attendance to watch the film.
Edo has been a centre of attention on human trafficking and illegal migration, with no fewer than 4,000 returnees from Libya within the last one year.
To discourage the menace, the state government earlier this year, inaugurated an enlightenment campaign in public places such as markets, schools, churches among others, against the vice.
Okoduwa said the documentary was also aimed at stopping traffickers from taking undue advantage of the ignorance of the youths.
He disclosed that the documentary would be aired in three schools every week, saying that no fewer than 40 secondary schools would be covered by the first quarter of 2019.
According to him, “the students have not only watched it, we have also given them CDs containing the documentary to take home.
“We want to ensure that the students are fully abreast of the necessary information they need to have about the dangers of human trafficking and irregular migration.
“The documentary exposes the illegal activities of traffickers and efforts of government at arresting the scourge.
“We will not rest on our efforts until the campaign against the menace is spread across the nooks and crannies of the state.
“We are appealing to parents and other stakeholders to join government in this campaign against human trafficking and irregular migration.’’
The Vice-Principal, Oba Ewuare Grammar School, Mrs Eken Makalu, commended the state government for fighting human trafficking, and promise to further educate the students on its dangers.
Some students of the school who watched the documentary said it gave them a clearer view of the activities of human traffickers and the sufferings victims underwent during the dangerous journey abroad.
A Junior Secondary School (JSS) student of the school, Angelina Attah, said she was well equipped with the needed information to resist any trafficker that might come her way.
She volunteered to join the campaign while in school so that her friends would not fall victims.