Be Wary of Juicy Jobs, Academic Offers – Anambra Task Force urges School Pupils, Teachers

By Praise Chinecherem

Anambra State Task Force on Human Trafficking has called on school children and teachers to be wary of juicy offers from suspicious sources.

Task force members made the call during a sensitization programme at Modebe Memorial Primary School, and Saint Patricks Secondary School, Odume Obosi.

Addressing the children, one of the task force members, Mrs Martins Mmaju, urged children to seek counsel when offers are made to them either by close relations or strangers.

According to her, child trafficking is perpetrated by people who are close to the children and their families who most often pose as destiny helpers.

“Children, I want you to know that not everything that glitters that is gold. Human traffickers normally pose like helpers.

“They will come to your parents offering that they will take you to the city or abroad to help your education or get job for you.

“When you get there, they will not give you the education or the job they promised. Rather, they exploit you sexually or expose you to exploitative labour.

“Our task force is fighting human trafficking in all its manifestations because our mandate is to reduce or possibly eliminate human trafficking in Anambra state.

“The taskforce team includes NAPTIP, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Women Affairs, Civil Defense, Immigration, NDLEA, Road Safety, CSOs and NGOs. So, we are a compact team working hard to stamp the crime of human trafficking out of the state.

Mrs Martins Mmaju further stated, “Anybody can be trafficked whether knowingly or unknowingly. Do not trust or follow strangers on an errand.

“Many children of your age had been trafficked before. Some of them were forced into commercial prostitution while the males were forced into cheap labour.

Victoria Anigbogu of NAPTIP Anambra Head of Public Enlightenment, explained the tricks of human traffickers to the children urging them to be wary of juicy offers.

“Traffickers use deception, abduction, coercion as well as debt bondage to trap unsuspecting victims.

“You must be very careful. Share the knowledge you gain today with your parents and fellow children. You may save one potential victim of human trafficking.

Another member of the task force, Mrs Ebele Nwufoh, told the children to be speak up when they notice c movement or activities around them.

“Do not keep silent when you see something suspicious. Report to your parents or your teachers.

“You can also report to us through the phone numbers we give you. We will take over the matter and prosecute it diligently.

Head Mistress, Modebe Memorial Primary School, Onitsha, Mrs Nneka Ogbuke and Principal, Saint Patricks Secondary School, Mrs E.E Chima, both appreciated the team for bringing the sensitization programme to their schools.

They expressed optimism that the knowledge garnered will be very useful not only to the children but the teachers in preventing future incidents of human trafficking.

The students vowed to report any act of trafficking they see around them to appropriate authorities.

Highpoint of the sensitization programme was the inauguration of anti-trafficking club by NAPTIP.