Says poverty, insecurity, others, reasons for trafficking surge

By Ezra Ukanwa –  Abuja

As part of its contribution to curb trafficking of persons in Nigeria, a Civil Society Organisation, CSO, Girls’ Power Initiative, GPI, has advised the Federal Government, FG, to leverage hi-techs in advancing the fight against human traffickers in the country.

This was even as the group specifically attributed poverty, insecurity and lack of job employment as critical systemic factors that have, overtime, increased cases of human trafficking in Nigeria and Africa in general.

The convener, who doubles as Head of Programmes, GPI, Loretta Enofe-Laurel, made this disclosure during a 3-day virtual serial capacity building workshop for young people on optimising social media use for sensitisation on human trafficking, themed: “Social Media for Social Change” (SM4SC), in Abuja.

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The virtual workshop which was in partnership with Spaces for Change, S4C; Save the Child Initiative, STCI; and Network Against Child Trafficking; Abuse and Labour; NACTAL, was held at the heels of the celebration of the 2022 World Day Against Human Trafficking in Persons.

According to her, The federal government must at this time address the push factors because trafficking is endemic in the 36 states and the FCT with Nigeria being a country of source transit and destination.

“The Federal Government must address these push factors which are poverty; insecurity and unemployment. All these consolidated in the increase in awareness raising and sensitisation especially on social media because this is a current means by which traffickers are luring victims so, if finding a means to encourage young, not just young but companies who are working on tech to develop a form of artificial intelligence to trail traffickers.

“We should go beyond the conventional means of sensitisation for prevention. Let’s involve technology because it can do a whole lot. Getting artificial intelligence to trail traffickers activities online so they should look at what other countries are doing on this because the effect of trafficking doesn’t just affect the individual but the country as a whole”, she added.

She, therefore, noted that the workshop was aimed at reducing the vulnerability of young persons to human trafficking through social media, _by building young digital advocates for countering trafficking in persons._

“This was in realisation of _the social change young people can drive when mobilised,_ social media as a ‘super-peer’ for many young persons, their gap in digital literacy although being born in the digital age, many lacked the ability to find, evaluate, and clearly communicate information on various digital platforms, and most especially the use of social media by traffickers to identify, recruit, groom, and exploit victims”, she stated.

The keynote speaker of the Workshop Closing Ceremony and webinar spoke on the theme of the 2022 Day Against Trafficking in Persons “Use and Abuse of Technology”, NACTAL FCT Secretary, Vera Roli Igbinadolor, however, highlighted the nexus of technology with human trafficking and challenged the 11 trained young persons withing the age bracket of (15-24) from within and outside Nigeria to be enablers for social change advocating to end trafficking in persons.

Vanguard News Nigeria