Edo Secures Conviction Of Seven Human Traffickers, 47 Others Undergoing Prosecution

By Osariemen Idiaghe

The Edo state Government in its bid to reinstate its commitment to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking and illegal migration has secured the conviction of seven human traffickers with 47 others undergoing prosecution.

These facts were made available to the public by the Executive Secretary of Edo state Taskforce Against Human Trafficking, Itohan Okungbowa at a press conference ahead of the international community unites programme to support the campaign against sex trafficking in Nigeria with the screening of ‘Oloture’ held at the Victor Uwaifo creative hub in Benin City, Edo state.

Okungbowa added that the government has recorded huge success in the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration since the onset of the taskforce in 2017, noting that the government is sustaining efforts to totally eradicate the menace in Edo state.

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“We commend the state Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki for the establishment of the body in 2017 as it has fought tremendously to reduce the scourge of human trafficking in the state.

“The government in combating the scourge, accepted that there was a problem and this has helped in tackling the issue head on.

“Presently, we have been able to secure the conviction of seven person’s who were engaged in human trafficking in the state while 47 other cases are in court.

The governor has used his political will to confront the problem head-on and today we are all celebrating as Edo state is no longer used as example of when it comes to human trafficking and prostitution in Nigeria.”.

In his remarks, the Executive Director of the Coalition for the Abolition of prostitution, Jonathan Machler called on Nigeria government to adopt the Abolitionist/Sankara Equality Model which decriminalises and reintegrates the victims of prostitution and human trafficking through psychosocial support, while penalizing the exploiters.

Machler said there must be collaborative efforts by nations around the world to eliminate prostitution while protecting the women.