Edo state government has began campaign against human trafficking and illegal migration in secondary schools across the state.
Solomon Okoduwa, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, initiated the campaign at Edo National College, Iguobazuwa.
Okoduwa,, who expressed worry over the situation appealed to students to “adhere to what they are being told in the campaign against human trafficking and irregular migration”.
Okoduwa said the government would not fold its arms to allow the illegal activities to thrive in the state, adding that the government would focus, especially, on the rural areas where human traffickers harvest teenagers.
According to him, the Obaseki’s led administration was interested in “your future and he wants you to fulfill your dreams.
Therefore don’t listen to those telling you about travelling abroad.
“They could use your parents or even your pastors to convince you to embark on this perilous journey.
The traffickers don’t care what you become in future, but they want to use you to make money for themselves.
“Many of those trafficked died on their way or those who were able to get to Libya or anywhere in Europe are being enslaved, sexually exploited by their sponsors,” he stated.
It would be recalled that no fewer than 100 students of Idogbo Secondary School, Benin, were trafficked to Libya between January and May this year.
Okoduwa had disclosed this during an earlier advocacy programme on how schools in the state had now become harvesting ground for traffickers.
He warned the students to be wary of the antics of the traffickers who are bent on deceiving them into embarking on the dangerous journey.
“Henceforth, report anyone who tells you to travel to Europe.
They are simply taking you through Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea and you may eventually end up in Libya.
(NAN)
