Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Edo Task-force on Anti-Human Trafficking Chairman and Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, yesterday, said government has renewed its commitment in training and resettling victims of human trafficking in the state.
Omorogbe said this in Benin during a stakeholders’ conference organised by Market Development Programme in the Niger Delta (MADE), a Department for International Development programme, in collaboration with Edo State investment Portfolio (ESIP).
She said the state government, as part of efforts to curb the illegal migration, is training returnees on their chosen trades and provide starter pack to dissuade them from embarking on illegal trips.
“The state has so far received 4,769 victims of illegal migration and human trafficking from 56 batches,” she said, adding that there were 1,321 females among the returnees and that 57 of them were pregnant as at the time they were returned to the country.
“About 10 percent of the returnees have serious medical challenges but were given adequate treatment,” she said.
Omorogbe identified quest for greener pastures, economic pressure, family and pear pressure, as some of the reasons the youths embarked on illegal migration.
Omorogbe noted that the task force is facing the challenges of limited resources and training equipment, and called on well-meaning individual and international body to collaborate to effectively take care of the victims of human trafficking.
MADE Investment Portfolio Manager, Rufus Idris, said they are supporting the Edo government to train the returning and help increase their means of livelihood.