The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in collaboration with UK Aid have officially launched an initiative aimed at reducing human trafficking in Edo and Delta states.
The event had the Director General of NAPTIP Dame Julie Okah-Donli and the Deputy Head of Office, Department for International Development (DFID) Nigeria, John Primrose, who represented the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Cationa Laing, in attendance.
Also, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa and the Attorney General & Justice Minister for Edo State, Yinka Omorogbe, alongside other dignitaries were at the event, which took place in Abuja.
A statement explained that the initiative was aimed at inspiring and empowering young women in Edo and Delta states to find success on their own terms without paying the terrible price paid by so many others, who look for success abroad.
“Approximately 80 per cent of Nigerian women who take the dangerous journey overseas end up being trafficked and forced into prostitution.
“The ‘Not For Sale’ initiative thus provides these women with the support services that enables them to seek out training and opportunities in their home land Nigeria,” it added.
Okah-Donli expressed great delight at, “the collaborative efforts of NAPTIP and UK Aid in driving positive conversations through the Not for Sale campaign.
“An initiative which is making immeasurable impact in the fight against modern slavery issues and its affect on vulnerable persons, especially young women, in the country.”
Dame Okah-Donli added: “The Not for sale campaign provides a visible platform for stakeholders within the various states and communities to forge common ground in enlightening vulnerable young women in our society on the potential dangers of buying into false promises of a better life abroad, which range from involuntary servitude to rape, forced marriages and has cost many women their lives.”
She then used the medium to urge the various state governments in Nigeria to “empower women in rural areas via effective skill acquisition programs which will ensure they earn good living and in turn, impact their communities positively.”
