As the world marked Human Rights Day on Monday, the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related matters (NAPTIP), urged the extension of campaigns to rural areas across the country where it said issues of human trafficking have shifted, saying that awareness in urban areas has forced traffickers to the hinterlands.
Meanwhile, human right groups in Edo and Delta States including the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and the Human Rights Defender Organization of Nigeria (HRDON), as part of activities to mark the day, called for enlightenment of Nigerians to know their rights as citizens to avoid being intimidated and oppressed by any agency of government.
National Chairman of HRDON, Kingsley Irabor, made the call while speaking with journalists shortly after an event to mark the day at the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) Press Centre in Benin City.
On his part, Executive Director, ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor urged the Edo House of Assembly to enact a law that would institutionalize the proposed Public Defender Unit (PDU) in the state.
In his speech, Ugolor made “a call on the Nigeria government to sign on to the voluntary principle on security and Human Rights.”
He said the proposed PDU “is aimed a providing free legal aid to victims of human Rights abuses to ensure that the freedom and rights of citizens and residents are not trampled upon.”
Executive Director of NAPTIP, Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba who was represented by Director, Public Enlightenment Department, Abuja, Mrs. Ladun Aiyegbusi also called on all tiers of government to provide qualitative education for children and check younger Nigerians falling prey to human traffickers.
She the made the call yesterday at the Edo State Anti-Human Trafficking Community Dialogue, saying the gathering was also to sensitise children and parents on the scourge of trafficking.