From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has inaugurated a 30-member Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Violence Against Persons (A-TIPVAP) Club at the Godfrey Okoye University Secondary School, Enugu.
The event, held within the school premises, was graced by officials of NAPTIP, representatives of the Enugu State Ministry of Justice, educators, and excited students.
Speaking during the induction ceremony, the Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Jonathan Ukpai, said the initiative is part of the agency’s strategy to “catch them young” and empower the next generation to recognise, resist, and report human trafficking and related abuses.
He said: “This is the inauguration of Anti-Trafficking in Persons school and Violence Against Persons (A-TIPVAP). These are children in secondary schools that we are targeting to sensitise them on the ills and menace of human trafficking.
“We want to tell them that no matter what anybody says, human trafficking is still thriving. It is modern-day slavery. Many people thought that slavery has ended, but it came back in a modern way and so many people are deceived.”
He described students as “vulnerable and manipulatable,” stressing that early intervention is critical.
“When you are able to handle these children at a very tender age, you would have even modelled them to achieve a great future. We have come here to make them the ones to speak to their peers about the ills of human trafficking.
“We will be giving them the necessary support. We have already empowered them so as to detect, prevent and report cases of human trafficking and violence against persons.”
Representing the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Enugu State, Ngozi Agu, emphasized the importance of targeting secondary school students who are most at risk once they leave school.
“This programme is worthwhile because we catch them young. They are the targets. Those in SS1 and SS2, once they leave school, they will be looking for ways to survive. And because they are vulnerable, people will come in the guise that they want to help, but it is deception in the highest order,” she warned.
“They come to deceive their parents to take them away to one country or another, or even here in Nigeria, for the purposes of trafficking, either for sexual exploitation or for some other things that contradict the principles of justice.
“So we need to catch them young so that they will pass the message to their parents, to their siblings and family members. The fight against human trafficking requires a multi-stakeholder approach. That is why we are establishing this vanguard.”
The A-TIPVAP Club is a peer-driven initiative designed to enrich students’ knowledge about trafficking, reduce their vulnerability, and build their confidence to speak out.
According to NAPTIP, the Club will also provide students with educational materials and a support network, equipping them with tools to navigate and resist the subtle tactics traffickers use.
Delivering a passionate acceptance speech, the newly inducted president of the club, Favour Okoye, pledged to lead the student vanguard with courage and purpose.
“I feel delighted that I was chosen to lead this group. I will do my best to ensure that we wage a strong war against human trafficking. I will collaborate with other schools to form a strong front against this scourge,” she said.
Each member of the newly inaugurated A-TIPVAP Club was nominated by the school administration and will receive materials to support their activities and continued education on human rights, trafficking prevention, and peer advocacy.
South East Zonal Commander of NAPTIP addressing students of Godfrey Okoye University Collage, Enugu.