ICMPD trains 150 teachers to curb child trafficking in Delta

The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) commenced the training of 150 teachers on mainstreamed Trafficking in Persons (TIP) content on Tuesday in Asaba, Delta State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training, sponsored by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is being conducted in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

The four-day training, which began on Tuesday, is expected to end on Friday. It is a part of the efforts to deepen the ICMPD, School Anti-trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP) in the participating states.

In her opening remarks, Binta Bello, director-general of NAPTIP, stated that the training was designed to equip subject teachers in secondary schools in Delta with the TIP content recently incorporated into the revised Basic Education Curriculum.

Mrs Bello, represented by Tolu Odugbesan, a director in NAPTIP, said the training marks another milestone in the collective journey to safeguard the future of children and strengthen the national response to human trafficking through education.

According to Mrs Bello, Trafficking in Persons remains one of the gravest human rights violations confronting Nigeria today.

“The statistics are deeply troubling as children account for more than 55 per cent of identified victims.

“These are school-aged boys and girls who, instead of being safe in their learning environments, are targeted, exploited, and abused by traffickers.

“This is why the education sector continues to be one of our strongest allies in the fight against TIP.

“Our journey toward integrating anti-human trafficking content into Nigeria’s school curriculum began over a decade ago.

“In 2017, the Agency partnered with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council to infuse TIP concepts into the curriculum of basic and senior secondary schools across the country,” she said.

She defined the partnership as crucial to strengthen an earlier Memorandum of Understanding signed on 23 July 2014, which formally positioned NAPTIP as a key stakeholder in Nigeria’s national curriculum development and review process.

Mrs Bello said: “The primary objective of this entire effort is clear: to develop a transgenerational tool of knowledge that will permeate every part of the country, equipping children and young persons, who unfortunately fall within the target age bracket of traffickers.

“With the understanding that the targeted group need to protect themselves and others.

“By teaching TIP themes within selected subjects in both primary and secondary schools, we aim to catch them young and empower them early.”

The NAPTIP director general stated that the training would be held across the five STEAP states of Delta, Edo, Enugu, Benue, and Ogun, representing a strategic next step in implementing the TIP-focused curriculum.

“It is designed to equip teachers with the required methodologies, pedagogical tools, and age-appropriate approaches needed to effectively deliver these contents in their classrooms,” Mrs Bello said.

‘Over 75 per cent of trafficking victims in West Africa are children’

On her part, Rhoda Dia-Johnson, the project manager, STEAP-ICMPD, said human trafficking remains one of the most pressing challenges facing children and young people in Nigeria.

“Shockingly, over 75 per cent of trafficking victims in West Africa are children.

“This stark reality underscores the urgent need for prevention efforts, particularly within our schools, where children spend much of their formative years.

“Today, we are here to highlight a critical initiative addressing this challenge. The School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project is leveraging education as a powerful tool to prevent trafficking before it begins.

“Through schools, we are equipping children, teachers, and the wider school community with knowledge about the risks of trafficking, how to recognise warning signs, and strategies to stay safe,” Mrs Dia-Johnson said.

The Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, represented by the Director-General, State Orientation Bureau, Fred Latimor, commended the organisers of the programme for taking the fight against human trafficking to secondary schools in the state.

Mr Ohwovoriole noted that training the subject teachers would help build a more cordial relationship between them and the children for a better understanding of trafficking in persons.

Also, the State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Rose Ezewu, represented by Justina Ishaka in the ministry, lauded the training programme.

Mrs Ezewu pledged the state government’s commitment to impacting students with the requisite knowledge about child trafficking.

(NAN)