Stakeholders on Tuesday gathered in Asaba for a two-day sensitisation programme aimed at intensifying the fight against human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.
The programme was organised by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), in collaboration with Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL).
The Team Leader of FIIAPP, Mr Raphael Molina, said that the programme was organised to implement the Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (A-TIPSOM) project in Delta.
Molina was represented by the Senior Project Officer of FIIAPP/A-TIPSOM, Mr Joseph Sanwo.
He said: ”We are in Delta to implement ‘A-TIPSOM’ project, which is sponsored by the European Union (EU).
”We are here to support NACTAL, Delta chapter, which has been on the course of fighting and sensitising the people on the dangers involved in trafficking persons and smuggling of migrants.
”Whatever that is going to be discussed here today and tomorrow, the stakeholders should be able to take it back to their various groups and communities for more sensitisation, ” he said.
Molina said that the ”A-TIPSOM” project was all about supporting the Nigerian government in the fight against human trafficking and reducing it to the barest minimum.
“We are partnering with the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Immigration Service, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons as well as representatives of Civil Society Organisations and NACTAL,” he said.
On his part, the Chairman of the Delta Taskforce Against Trafficking in Persons, Mr Peter Mrakpor, called for good parenting, to get a better society.
Mrakpor, the immediate past Attorney General of the state, advised parents to get their priorities right and know that whatever they produce become ambassadors from their families.
He also stressed the need for parents to know that their children did not need to travel abroad to be successful in life.
Mrakpor also advised youths to understand that they represent the future of the nation.
”There is no country where it is rossy,” he told them.
In her address of welcome, the state Coordinator of NACTAL, Mrs Tessy Imahia-Enahoro, said that the fight against human trafficking and smuggling of migrants had been challenging in the state.
According to statistics, Delta is the second state with the highest number of human trafficking.
”It may interest you to know that we have a cartel in this state, and we have reported cases of human trafficking a lot,” he said.
Imahia-Enahoro appealed to relevant stakeholders to join hands in the fight against human trafficking, as the government could not do it alone.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting attracted representatives of various organisations and groups including the Nigeria Police Force, Immigration Service, traders associations, and road transport unions. (NAN)
