By Mustapha Sumaila
An NGO, Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), has called for more sensitisation in the rural areas to completely wage war against human trafficking in the country.
The Executive Director of WOTCLEF, Mrs Imabong Ladipo-Sanusi, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.
Ladipo-Sanusi said that if the war against human trafficking must be won, hence there was need to intensify campaigns in the rural areas where the act was also being perpetuated.
She said that those in the vanguards to fight human trafficking, must be all over places until the menace was completely wiped out.
According to her, rural areas are also being sensitised by other sister NGOs in the different geo-political zones through traditional and religious institutions.
The executive director noted that WOTCLEF, through its NYSC partnership with the Youth Corps, had taken the fight to the rural areas.
She said that efforts needed to be increased for aggressive campaign to combat human trafficking.
Ladipo-Sanusi said that activities of human traffickers would affect the future of the young generation if not well tackled.
She said that victims were exploited for various purposes including, but not limited to labour, domestic, hazardous, organ harvest, sexual exploitation, debts bondage, and sales of children or baby factories.
“Having lost their civic, social, legal and economic rights, it is obvious that rehabilitation and safe reintegration of victims remain key.
“How painful, bleak and traumatic it is when victims are children, you will not understand until you ask what will become of the future of little Miss X, who was taken away from her mother at a tender age.
“Used for domestic labour under a slave-like condition by the woman of the house, while the man of the house manipulates her as his sex toy,” she said.
Ladipo-Sanusi narrated and quoted the ordeals of one of the victims, “each time I am doing the chores in the house, he picks me up and violates me sexually.”
The director said that the little girl victim was only rescued at the age of eight after a traumatic six years experience.
“Today, she is nine and cannot just wave off the ordeal as she sometimes longs to see her mother whom the female trafficker claims is nowhere to be found`,” she said.
Ladipo-Sanusi said that there were lots of children and adult victims of human trafficking in their shelters with different traumatic experiences.
She added that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic In Persons (NAPTIP) and all relevant NGOs must work together to eliminate human trafficking. (NAN)
Edited by Fatima Sule/Olagoke Olatoye
