By Emmanuel Antswen
International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have trained 78 lecturers on the prevention of human trafficking in Benue.
Mrs Rhoda Dia-Johnson, Project Manager, ICMPD School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), said that the aim of the training was to build the capacities of participants to detect and forestall human trafficking.
Dia-Johnson, represented by Mr Selbol Langyi, ICMPD STEAP Project Desk Officer, spoke at the opening ceremony of the one-day workshop on Tuesday in Gboko, Benue.
She said a total of 78 participants, including lecturers, traditional rulers and student representatives from six Colleges of Education, would benefit from the training.
She said the objective of the training is to equip educators with the knowledge, tools, and skills to effectively teach, advocate, and act against trafficking in persons within schools and communities.
She said the training was a step down from the National Training of Trainers (ToT) held from Nov. 6 to Nov. 8, 2024, for lecturers from Colleges of Education across Benue, Delta, Edo and Enugu states.
According to her, the national workshop deepened participants’ understanding of the newly developed Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Curriculum, which has been mainstreamed into the NCE Minimum Standards.
“Human trafficking remains one of the serious organised crimes confronting our society. It robs individuals of their dignity and destroys communities.
“Unfortunately, schools are not immune to this threat. As educators, we play a strategic role in shaping minds and building resilience against such exploitation,” she said.
She said the participants were from the College of Education, Katsina-Ala; and Sinia College of Education & Entrepreneurial Studies, Gboko.
Others are from Gboko College of Education; Jonorto College of Education, Wannune; Doviana College of Education, Gboko; and Lessel College of Education, Lessel, Ushongo.
In her welcome address, Mrs Binta Bello, DG, NAPTIP, said through their partnership with ICMPD, they hoped to prevent further human trafficking in Benue.
Represented by Mrs Gloria Bai, Zonal Commander, NAPTIP Benue Command, Bello said the training would bring up to speed colleges of education in the fight against human trafficking.
She said the state’s unending security challenges have further made youths more vulnerable to traffickers, hence the need for the training.
Also the State Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Dr Margaret Adamu, said 50 public schools were benefiting from the project in Benue.
Represented by Mr Timothy Ahule, ICMPD Desk Officer at the ministry, Adamu said the majority of the victims were also from basic and secondary education.
The participants at the workshop resolved to partner with ICMPD and NAPTIP to end human trafficking in their various communities.
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