NOA, NAPTIP take anti-trafficking campaign to Ondo schools, communities
A coordinated anti-trafficking sensitisation campaign has reached schools, tertiary institutions and community centres in Akure South and Idanre local government areas of Ondo State.
The campaign, organised by Dreambuilders Child Education and Empowerment Foundation through its advocacy arm, Seedmentors Africa, was supported by officials of the National Orientation Agency and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
The campaign focused on Alabuga Start, a Russian recruitment programme that advertises work-study opportunities and attracts young African women with promises of paid training, career opportunities and free travel to Russia.
According to investigations cited by the organisers, including reports by the BBC and Premium Times, some recruits reportedly discovered after arriving in Russia that they were working at a factory involved in the production of Shahed-136 drones for use in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The organisers therefore selected Akure South and Idanre for the campaign because of what they described as a high prevalence of trafficking-related incidents in the two local government areas.
The team visited Olofin Grammar School in Idanre and several institutions in Akure South, including Muslim College, St. Michael Secondary School, St. Louis Girls Grammar School, Fiwasaye Girls Grammar School, Peacock College of Nursing and the Federal University of Technology, Akure.
However, the campaign faced resistance at Tipper Garage in Akure, where organisers said they had to reschedule the outreach and make payments to local youths, as well as provide food, before the sensitisation programme could hold without disruption.
Meanwhile, the campaign also received support from media organisations, with CTBeats FM expressing interest in future anti-trafficking partnerships, while the organisers said the involvement of NOA and NAPTIP demonstrated the importance of sustained collaboration between government agencies, communities, schools and the media in combating human trafficking.
