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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has inaugurated an Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Persons Vanguard at Government Model Secondary School, Makurdi, as part of efforts to strengthen child protection and community-based prevention in Benue State.
The Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, who addressed the students in Makurdi on Wednesday, described the initiative as a major milestone under the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), explaining that the project is funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by NAPTIP in partnership with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
According to her, the school vanguard is designed to ensure that schools remain safe spaces where children can learn and thrive without fear of trafficking, violence, exploitation or abuse, noting that the initiative goes beyond symbolism to a practical, community-driven mechanism intended to protect children, adolescents and young people at a time when their vulnerability is on the increase.
Bello explained that the objectives include raising age-appropriate awareness among students, teachers and parents; helping school communities recognise warning signs; understand the law; and build prevention capacity through peer educators, trained teachers and safeguarding focal points.
She added that the vanguard would also establish safe reporting channels and clear referral pathways to ensure suspected cases are handled quickly, professionally and with compassion, while fostering resilience against recruitment, grooming and exploitation.
The Director-General of NAPTIP stated that, with the inauguration, measurable outcomes including increased awareness and reporting, faster referrals, reduced incidents of abuse and stronger community ownership of prevention would be achieved, particularly the protection of children’s lives and futures.
She emphasised that trafficking and violence are local problems requiring local solutions, saying that school-based initiatives such as the vanguard place students, teachers, parents and community leaders at the centre of prevention efforts.
Bello, who commended the Benue Zonal Commander for delivering on duties assigned to her, also thanked the Kingdom of the Netherlands for its support to the STEAP project and related school improvement interventions, describing the partnership as a demonstration of how international cooperation can strengthen national and local responses to trafficking and violence.
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To ensure sustainability, Bello said NAPTIP would work with the Ministry of Education, school management committees, parent-teacher associations, youth groups and civil society to mainstream safeguarding policies, monitor progress and document lessons for scale-up.
She called on students, teachers, parents and community leaders to take ownership of the vanguard, urging vigilance, open conversations, prompt reporting of suspicious activities and dignity for survivors, while reaffirming NAPTIP’s unwavering commitment to protecting vulnerable Nigerians from all forms of exploitation.
Leader of the delegation from the Netherlands, Mr Victor Cramer, who is also the Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Asylum and Migration, Netherlands, described human trafficking as a gross violation of human rights and called on all stakeholders to join hands to fight the menace. He reiterated the support of the Netherlands to ensure that the project is successfully implemented.
The Zonal Commander, NAPTIP Benue State Zonal Command, Gloria Bai, said the students have been trained to look out for their fellow students and recruit others into the campaign. She assured that, with the inauguration of the vanguard, the high rate of trafficking among children will be reduced drastically.
The State Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Margareth Adamu, appreciated NAPTIP and partners for implementing such a project in Benue, expressing the government’s support to ensure its success.
Our correspondent reports that the DG also visited displaced persons from Yelewata at the International Market IDP camp in Makurdi, where she delivered a message of hope, saying their visit was to reassure them that they are not forgotten but: “Your safety, dignity and protection remain our priority. We understand that displacement and hardship can make families vulnerable. Unfortunately, human traffickers often take advantage of difficult situations like this.” She assured that NAPTIP is fully committed to protecting every woman and child from human trafficking, exploitation and abuse.
Hajia Bello also visited participants at the ongoing capacity-building workshops for NAPTIP investigators and prosecutors, and related enforcement agencies on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Violence Against Persons (VAP) holding in Makurdi.
The workshop was organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in partnership with NAPTIP, with support from the Ministry of Asylum and Migration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the Building an Environment Free of Human Trafficking and Violence Against Persons in Nigeria (TIPVAP NG) project.
