A non-governmental organisation, Plan International Nigeria, has urged the three tiers of government in the country to address chronic poverty among the masses.
Plan International’s manager on policy, research and influence, Mr. Tunde Aremu, gave the charge on Thursday at a public presentation of its report of research into the trafficking of girls and young women in Nigeria.
Speaking at the event in Abuja, Aremu said the major drivers of trafficking in the country were poverty and inequality.
“There is the need for government at all levels to tackle poverty and inequality in the country, because these are they major drivers of trafficking of girls and women. The government must also address the issues of education and job creation, which often lure young women to seek greener pastures abroad and in the process fall prey to human traffickers.”
While giving a brief insight into the report and launch of #NoToTrafficking Campaign on Thursday in Abuja, Aremu disclosed that 68 per cent of young women and 57 per cent of adolescent girls from Nigeria were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, respectively.
He called for collaborative efforts amongst security agencies to halt the menace of women trafficking.
On his part, an assistant director at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking-in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr. Chidi Donatus, said the federal government was making commendable efforts through legislations and security interventions to fight human trafficking.
A representative of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Mrs. Agatha Kolawole, said child trafficking remained the worst form of child labour, calling on government to intensify its onslaught against human traffickers.
