Some local and international organizations have expressed concerns over the menace of human trafficking and the plight of refugees across the globe, saying there is a need for concerted efforts by every stakeholder to check the growing trend.
The concerned organizations include the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), among others.
They made the call in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State during the premiere of a film ‘Dangerous Hope’ which seeks to enlighten and sensitize vulnerable and other people of concern to the dangers of irregular migration.
Calling for an attitudinal change, increased knowledge, and awareness for potential traffickers, they sought the necessary tools and assistance that could help survivors reclaim their lives.
The Head of the UNHCR Lagos Field Office, Ephraim Kabura, expressed a need for adequate awareness of the risk of being trafficked and the need for all to be proactive toward reducing the menace.
The need to fight the growing trends in human trafficking is a task that must be done by all, he argued.
With the growing rate of economic exploitation and harvesting of the organs of victims, trafficking in persons remains a subject of global concern.
Targeting children, refugees were among the stakeholders at the film premiere educated on the dangers of irregular migration as they remain key targets of traffickers due to their vulnerability and aspirations.
A Cameroonian master’s student and refugee in Ogoja, Cross River State, Bobga Derrick, was one of those who attended the event.