The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in collaboration with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and Ogun State Government yesterday organized an inter-school competition for students to raise awareness and strengthen efforts to combat human trafficking among students in the state.

 

The event, tagged “Trapped Behind the Scam,” featured a variety of activities, including debates, quizzes, drama performances, poetry recitals, and cultural dances was held yesterday at the African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta, to commemorate the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

 

The Schools that participated in the competition are: St. Peters College, Premier Grammar School; Salau Abiola Comprehensive High School; Lomiro High School, Ogun Waterside; Ososa Comprehensive High School, Ijebu-Ode, Ifedapo Community Comprehensive High, Ewokoro; African Church Grammar School.

 

Speaking, the Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in Ogun State, Abosede Jimoh, has said that the agency organized a debate, drama presentations, and quiz competition to assess students’ understanding of the dangers of human trafficking.

 

Jimoh, who used the occasion to send a strong warning to traffickers that there is no hiding place for them in the state, explained that traffickers often lure vulnerable victims including the students with false promises of lucrative jobs in countries such as Mali and Ghana, claiming they would work in gold mining or other profitable ventures.

 

She said ” the purpose of the other competition debate is to test the students knowledge on what they have been taught on the issues is about human trafficking. They being educated on the indicator of human trafficking which is the trap that the traffickers usually use to convince them that if you o go to Mali or Ghana, you are going to be mining gold and at the end of the day they discovered that they are being scammed of any form of exploitation.”

 

“Is a very special set aside by global community to commemorate July 30 World Day Against Trafficking in Person set aside by global community to raise awareness about realities of human trafficking and to protect the victims of human trafficking from further harms and also to send a strong warning to traffickers that there is no hiding place for them in the country to perpetrate atrocities on venerable persons. ” She noted.

 

The Project Officer of ICMPD in Ogun State, Mr. Samuel Okorji, said that the event was a School Anti-trafficking Education And Advocacy Project implemented by the centre to educate and sensitize the secondary school students about the dangers and realities of human trafficking.

 

Okorji explained that the purpose was to create awareness and promote peer-to-peer advocacy among students on the dangers of human trafficking, said that engaging students as advocates was an effective strategy to make human trafficking messages have greater impact among the students.

 

“what we are doing today is in commemoration of the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking In Person, this is a day set aside by the United nations. What we do is to awareness creating, raising peer to peer advocacy among the students against human trafficking because when the students talks to their colleagues the message sinks better.” he said.

 

Earlier, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu expressed profound appreciation to NAPTIP and ICMPD for their steadfast commitment to empowering the students and others through education and awareness.

 

Arigbabu, who was represented by The Ministry’s Director of Education, Mrs Mary Akinola-Okereafor, noted that their sustained efforts would continue to provide youths with the knowledge, values, and essential life skills needed to recognize and resist the dangers of human trafficking, online fraud, deceptive recruitment, unsafe migration, and other exploitations.

 

He said “Dear students, Human Trafficking rarely begins with chains. It often begins with deception, through fake recruitment, fraudulent scholarships, online scams/friendships, false promises of wealth and unsafe travel opportunities and knowledge remains your greatest protection, learn to verify information, ask questions, seek guidance from trusted adults and never allow anyone to exploit your dreams.

 

“As Participants from the STEAP Schools, you are more than Competitors, but advocates for positive change. Through Debate, Drama, Spoken-word Poetry, Cultural Presentations, Quizzes and interactive learning, let your voices educate others, challenge harmful narratives and inspire your peers to make safe and informed decisions.” he added.