HUMAN TRAFFICKING: MONITOR WHAT YOUR CHILDREN DO ONLINE— NAPTIP ADVISES PARENTS

REPORTER: JOHN MADUAGWU

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, (NAPTI), wants parents and guardians in Abia State to closely monitor what their children and wards do on the internet and whom they interact with on social media platforms.

The State Coordinator, NAPTIP Abia State, Mrs. Nkemdilim Okafor, made the call while speaking with Radio Nigeria on the 2022 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons which was marked on July 30.

Mrs. Okafor said such close monitoring was essential as many young ones had fallen into the wrong hands, especially those they met online and ended up being trafficked to places far away from home.

She explained that many traffickers had invaded the social media and other internet-enabled platforms to recruit victims, which informed the basis of this year’s theme of the event which is “Use and Abuse of Technology.”

Mrs. Okafor pointed out that in a bid to meet the challenge, NAPTIP had forged partnership with a global technology giant, which had been instrumental in resolving many cases.

She therefore urged parents and residents of Abia State not to hesitate to furnish the agency with relevant information on the activities of traffickers or victims through the agency’s phone number, 09155018805, to enable them to quickly attend to the matter.

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU