Parents pushing children into illegal migration--NAPTIP

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons has said that parents are mounting pressure on their children to embark on illegal migration.

NAPTIP Benin Zonal Commander Nduka Nwanwenne said this in Benin at the weekend during a media awareness campaign with the theme, “Increasing Awareness of the Adverse Effects of Human Trafficking on Target Population”, organised by the Name Foundation in partnership with Market Development Programme in the Nigeria Delta (MADE).

“The desire to get rich quick, better life, among others are making parents to mount pressure on children to embark on illegal migration. It is not the responsibility of children of 14, 15 and 16 years to make money for the family. Parents should stop putting pressure on their children.

“This played out when we went to reunite one of the victims with her family, the mother was disappointed and she told the lady since you couldn’t make it through land, I will source for money to go by plane. Some parents have been convicted as a result of this.

“There is also a case we are investigating now in which a 400 level student of Zoology in university of Benin, abandoned his education and traveled to Ghana and he was killed there, we learnt that it was the mother that encourage him to go to Ghana,” he said.

Nwanwenne said the agency currently had five pregnant girls in its shelter, rescued from sexual exploitation by their sponsor.

According to him, the agency has convicted 70 traffickers and rescued 3,000 victims in Edo and Delta States since the zone was established.

He said the condition of trafficked victims in their host country, especially African countries, was worse than what they were running away from.