By Isharo Odafe
AGBOR/Nigeria: The Delta State Government says it is prosecuting more than 15 human trafficking cases before the State High Court as part of intensified efforts to tackle human exploitation, illegal migration and deceptive overseas employment schemes.
The government disclosed this during a stakeholders’ sensitisation programme organised by the State Ministry of Justice in collaboration with relevant agencies in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area, where residents were urged to remain vigilant and support efforts to dismantle trafficking networks.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, SAN, who chairs the Delta State Task Force Against Human Trafficking and Irregular Migration, said the state was strengthening its legal and institutional response to the crime.
Ohwovoriole, represented by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Ministry of Justice, Mr Tejiri Anuhwin, reaffirmed the state government’s determination to ensure that individuals involved in human trafficking and related offences are brought to justice.
He explained that the Department of Public Prosecutions was handling more than 15 trafficking cases before the Delta State High Court under the Delta State Human Trafficking (Prohibition) Law, 2024, signed by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
He added that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) was also prosecuting trafficking-related cases before the Federal High Courts in the state.
According to him, the state government was collaborating with relevant institutions and partners to identify victims, secure their release from exploitative situations and facilitate their safe return to their communities.
The Attorney-General expressed concern over the changing methods employed by trafficking syndicates, noting that criminal networks increasingly relied on social media, fraudulent recruitment advertisements and attractive but deceptive promises of employment abroad to exploit unsuspecting Nigerians.
He stressed that although legislation, investigation and prosecution remained essential, government agencies could not successfully combat human trafficking without the active participation of communities.
He therefore called on residents to be cautious about suspicious recruitment arrangements and report activities that could expose vulnerable persons to exploitation.
Also speaking, the Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Barrister Sam Offiah, represented by Stephen Selowo, commended the Delta State Government for sustaining public awareness campaigns and strengthening collaboration among agencies involved in combating human trafficking and irregular migration.
Offiah described human trafficking as an increasingly complex international criminal enterprise, warning that young people, including educated individuals seeking better opportunities abroad, were vulnerable to fraudulent migration arrangements.
He cautioned that some traffickers disguised their operations as legitimate employment opportunities, exploiting the growing desire among Nigerians to relocate overseas, popularly described as the Japa Syndrome.
“Human trafficking is not only a moral crime but a growing global business that feeds on desperation. The slang ‘Japa’ may sound harmless, but when aspiration turns into desperation, people become vulnerable, and that vulnerability is what traffickers exploit,” he said.
The NAPTIP zonal commander praised Delta State for its commitment to advocacy and inter-agency cooperation, urging other states to strengthen similar initiatives to prevent trafficking and unsafe migration.
In her presentation, the Secretary of the Delta State Task Force on Human Trafficking and Irregular Migration, Mrs Ijeoma Nwanze, described human trafficking as a contemporary form of slavery that required sustained collective action to eradicate.
She warned that the increasing pressure on young Nigerians to seek better economic opportunities abroad had created opportunities for fraudulent agents and organised trafficking networks to prey on vulnerable individuals.
Nwanze explained that identifying human trafficking involves examining critical elements such as movement, exploitation, deception, coercion and the exchange of payments or benefits to exercise control over victims.
She urged participants to take the knowledge acquired during the sensitisation exercise to their respective communities, educate residents and encourage the reporting of suspicious recruitment and migration activities.
“Together, we can build a Delta where no dream is trafficked and no ambition is enslaved,” she said.
The sensitisation programme forms part of broader efforts to strengthen public awareness, improve community participation and protect residents against human trafficking, fraudulent migration schemes and other forms of exploitation.
The growing concern is that the desire for better opportunities abroad should not become an avenue for criminal exploitation. Residents, particularly young people and their families, must be equipped with the information needed to distinguish legitimate migration opportunities from arrangements designed to place them in danger.
