BENIN – The Deputy Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Maria Edeko on Thursday urged members of the Edo State Transport Authority, (ESTA) to develop policy framework in the fight against the menace of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants.
Edeko spoke at the end of a two day training Workshop organized by the Centre for Development and Cultural Interchange, (CDCI) in Benin City, the Edo state Capital, even as she expressed the Assembly’s readiness to give legal backing to such framework.
She commented the support of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development and Ministry of Justice, Netherland efforts in supporting the fight against the danger of Human exploitation and deprivation.
“Transport sector play a major role because it has to do with movement of people. The training is an eye opener for the body. Edo State Transport Authority should explore the option of developing a policy and take it to the Executive to see and thereafter be put into law and as Assembly, we are ready to partner and develop the policy.
Resource Person and the Executive Director, Patriotic Citizen Initiative (PCI), Comrade Osita Osemene, who spoke at the two days training for stakeholders in the fight said most transport companies are involved in human trafficking unknown to them.
He said transport authorities are stakeholders in the business of human trafficking, irregular migration and smuggling of migrants and that is why the training workshop is vital to those transporters.
Osemene urged attendees at the training workshop to always alert the appropriate authority whenever there is a red flag indicating of trafficked persons to enable victims to be rescued .
“Basically, our area of focus is the protection of migrants, in terms of promoting their dignity and to ensure they are integrated back to the society.
Advertisement
“This training is very important for transport authorities, those that regulate transport sector. They are critical stakeholders and first contact that have direct contact with the transport organisations and they need a practical understanding about human trafficking.
“One of the key thing this programme is coming out with is to equip them with the knowledge which will help them to transfer the knowledge to the beneficiaries, who are the transporters.
In his remarks, the Executive Director of Centre for Development and Cultural Interchange (CDCI), Emmanuel Sule explained that the involvement of stakeholders like the Edo State Transport Authority (ESTA) is to get the support and cooperation of operators in the sector.
According to Sule, “Since 2023 we launched the transport union against trafficking in persons project which involves in training drivers and transport operators and how to identify and report trafficking in persons to the law enforcement agencies. After some time, we discovered that it was really vital to get government agencies involved.
“As a Non-Governmental Organisation there is really nothing we could do. Getting the Edo State Transport Authorities involved is a strategy we developed. So that they can mandate or compared transporters to follow the necessary guidances that would help us reduced the movement of Edo people through vehicles to various states.
“We are building the capacity of the ministry’s staff to understand the dangers and what it entails to reduce the problem of human trafficking and irregular migration.
Also, the Director of Transport Planning, Edo state, Engr. George Aghahowa, in his brief remarks said the training is an eye opener for transporters in understanding strategy and method of identifying trafficked victims in the line of their duty and report such to the appropriate authorities.
Highpoint of the training was the presentation of certificates to participants at the end of the training.
