ibadan—The Oyo State Government, yesterday, urged stakeholders to partner with it to reduce the growing cases of child trafficking.

File: Child trafficking

The state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Community Development, Social Welfare and Community Development, Mrs. Atinuke Osunkoya, made the appeal, in Ibadan, at a seminar to mark the United Nations International Day against Trafficking in Persons.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the seminar was jointly organised by the ministry and Live Abundantly Empowerment Initiative, an NGO, to sensitise students, NYSC members and market women on the dangers of human trafficking.

Osunkoya said: “Human Trafficking involves the recruitment, transporting or  harbouring  of people into a situation of exploitation against their will, through the use of violence, deception or coercion.

“So, this year’s occasion is not only relevant but necessary following the unprecedented increase in human trafficking cases.

“There is a rising determination to end this scourge, which has led to a growth in movements against sexual harassment, violence, hard  labour  and discrimination against victims.

“There is no gainsaying that victims of trafficking are forced into these situations with no reward or support, as well as little chance of escape.

“Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to raise public awareness and offer adequate aid to victims,” the commissioner said.

According to her, the state is highly dedicated and committed to tracking down the perpetrators of human trafficking.

She said that the state had successfully  counselled  and returned some recent deportees from Libya to their families.

“Quite a number of them have been successfully empowered by Oyo State Government and we are sponsoring various advocacy programmes at both the grassroots and the urban  centres,” Osunkoya said.

The State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Toye Arulogun, said the state government was alive to its responsibility of reducing the vulnerability of potential victims and developing strategies to address the root causes of trafficking.

“Given those raw data staring us in the face, the state the government has taken up the challenge of putting a stop to human trafficking.

“Our people are lured by the fake promises of greener pastures and are made to pay a huge sum of money to these fraudsters who call themselves agents.

“Why not use that money, some spend between N300,000 and a million naira, to start a business rather than subjecting yourself to unknown ordeals.

“We are calling on parents, guardians, residents and its citizens to  prioritise  their values and desist from employing the services of visa fraudsters and traffickers in order to seek greener pastures,” he said.

Also speaking, The Founder of Live Abundantly Empowerment Initiative, Dr. Ama Onyerinma, said human trafficking could single-handedly destroy the essence of humanity.