PRAWA trains 30 human trafficking victims in Kaduna

By Usman Ibn A. Lapai

Kaduna

No fewer than 30 victims and potential victims of human trafficking have received skills acquisition training in various fields from Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) in Kaduna state and four other four states.
Speaking to journalists during the closing ceremonies of the empowerment programme in Kaduna yesterday, the Executive Director of the group, Dr. Uju Agomoh, said the desire of the group “is to ensure that the issue of human trafficking in Nigeria is put under control and to also create awareness about the danger of human trafficking among Nigerians.”
Agomoh said five states in the country had been identified as the most endemic states “when it comes to issue of human trafficking,” adding that the states included Kaduna, Ogun, Kano, Edo and Anambra state.
She said: “NAPTIP 2013 data report analyses shows that the mentioned states are prevalent to human trafficking and that is why we are focus more on those states to empowered and educate people about the adopted methods of the traffickers.
“Some of the identified factors responsible for human trafficking includes: poverty, high rate of unemployment, especially among the youth who have graduated from school and have nothing doing, lack of education on the issue of human trafficking, among others.”
20-year-old Aisha Muhammed, who became a victim in 2011, said her uncle had promised her that she would follow him to Kano from Zaria to further her education, adding, however, that all the promises became lies as she ended up becoming a street-hawker.
“Due to the poverty of my parents, my uncle promised to help me to further my education while staying with him in Kano, but he used to travel to Port-Harcourt for his work. After some months, when my uncle travelled out of Kano, his wife stopped my school activities and I became street-hawker, selling pure water which exposed me to so many things; clubbing, smocking and I started following men around,” she said.
On her experience with PRAWA, Aisha said: “I am very happy with my life now because with the empowerment programme that I went through under the supervision of PRAWA and NAPTIP, I am now an independent person, and I can also empower others in the future.”

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