The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), has trained Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from five states on community sensitisation strategies aimed at preventing human trafficking and violence against persons.
The three-day capacity-building workshop, held in Asaba, Delta State, brought together participants from Delta, Edo, Enugu, Ogun and Benue states.
The training formed part of the implementation of the Schools Anti‑Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by ICMPD in partnership with NAPTIP.
Speaking at the event, the Commander of the NAPTIP Benin Zonal Command, Sam Offiah, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to preventing human trafficking, protecting victims and prosecuting offenders.
Offiah identified major challenges in the fight against trafficking to include slow judicial processes, weak witness protection systems and inadequate political will.
He therefore called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, civil society groups and communities to tackle the crime.
According to him, human trafficking remains one of the least reported crimes in the country, stressing the need for greater awareness in school communities about the tactics used by traffickers.
He urged CSOs participating in the workshop to apply the knowledge gained and extend sensitization campaigns to their communities.
“NAPTIP’s mandate is to eliminate the incidence of human trafficking in our society. Women and children of school age are the most vulnerable.
”It is disturbing that some parents even encourage their children to be trafficked for financial reasons,” Offiah said.
He explained that under the STEAP project, the agency has been establishing anti-trafficking vanguards in schools, where students were sensitised and encouraged to engage in peer-to-peer advocacy to educate fellow students, families and communities about the dangers of trafficking.
Also speaking, the STEAP Project Manager at ICMPD, Rhoda Dia‑Johnson, described civil society organisations as frontline partners in the prevention of trafficking.
She said the workshop aimed to review the activities carried out by partner CSOs in 2025, assess their challenges and strengthen their capacity for effective project delivery.
Dia-Johnson noted that the training also introduced new partner organisations to the project’s administrative procedures, financial management processes, reporting systems and data documentation requirements.
According to her, about 20 participants drawn from the five pilot states, along with ICMPD and NAPTIP officials, anti-trafficking task force members and officials from the Delta State Ministry of Education, took part in the workshop.
She added that the project also integrates advocacy on the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP), explaining that ICMPD is implementing programmes focused on both trafficking prevention and violence against persons.
Dia-Johnson commended the participating organisations for their efforts so far, noting that community ownership of the initiative was growing, with more parents and community leaders now actively speaking against trafficking.
Participants at the workshop, including Olubunmi Ashimolowo of the Gender Development Initiative and Excel Amadasun of the Girls Power Initiative, expressed appreciation to ICMPD and NAPTIP for the training.
They pledged to strengthen community engagement, encourage reporting of suspected trafficking and kidnapping cases, and work closely with other stakeholders to combat human trafficking and related crimes in their communities.
