NGO Cautions Nigerians Against Human Slavery on World Trafficking Day...

...Says Human Trafficking takes Many Forms, Knows no Borders

A Niger Delta-based non-governmental organization, NGO, Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ) says human trafficking is a crime that feeds on social inequalities, economic instability and conflicts.

This was contained in a statement signed by the National Coordinator of CEPEJ, Comrade Sheriff Mulade to mark the World Day against Human Trafficking, observed on 30th July, 2019.

According to the statement, children and youths, migrants and refugees are especially susceptible, while women and girls suffer brutal sexual exploitation, such as involuntary prostitution, forceful marriages, rape and appalling trade in human organs.

The NGO stated that human trafficking takes many forms and knows no borders, adding that traffickers often operate with impunity, with little or no attention paid to the crimes.

The statement stressed that we cannot continue to do things the same way and expect change to come, and charged all Nigerians to be well informed about human traffickers and be prepared to blow the whistle of change at all times.

The Center appealed to Nigerian Government at all levels to help advance actions towards bringing traffickers to justice, while protecting and supporting the victims of traffickers, smugglers or of modern forms of slavery or exploitation, whose rights come first.

The NGO also advised Nigerians to prevent, combat and eradicate human trafficking in the context of international migration. It also urged all Nigerians to come together on the key issues of prevention, protection and prosecution, so as to build a future where the crime cannot exist.

It said human traffickers profit from peoples’ hopelessness and despair, and rob the vulnerable of their fundamental rights.