The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Hajia Binta Bello, has called on secondary school principals in Ogun State to actively support the fight against human trafficking.
Speaking through the agency’s Director of Research and Programme Development, Mr. Josiah Emerole, Bello made this appeal during a two-day training session in Abeokuta for 50 selected principals who also serve as coordinators of Anti-Trafficking Vanguard Clubs in their schools.
The workshop was jointly organized with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) as part of the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The initiative aims to empower school communities to detect and prevent trafficking activities among students.
Highlighting the urgency of the issue, Bello described human trafficking as the second-largest transnational organized crime globally, surpassed only by drug trafficking. She noted that the illicit industry generates an estimated $150 billion annually and is responsible for the suffering and deaths of countless young victims, especially school-aged children.
“Ogun State is considered one of the hotspots for both internal and external human trafficking,” she revealed. “Many trafficked children are brought into the state to work in quarries and other exploitative environments. Some victims may even be within your schools, although you may not recognize them yet.”
Bello emphasized that the training was designed to deepen principals’ understanding of human trafficking and equip them to identify and assist victims. “Your roles go beyond education—you are also protectors,” she said. “By coordinating your schools’ vanguard clubs and engaging your teachers and communities, you can help dismantle trafficking networks.”
Echoing this, Rhoda Dia-Johnson, Project Manager of STEAP, said that school leaders play a crucial role in ensuring children’s safety.
“You are not just educators—you are frontline defenders of children’s rights. Schools must be safe spaces where signs of abuse are noticed and victims feel empowered to speak up,” she urged.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, represented by Akinola Okereafor, affirmed the state government’s commitment to fighting trafficking.
He disclosed that the education ministry has started implementing Safe School Child Protection Policies and psychosocial support frameworks across schools.
He stressed that schools are the first line of defence against trafficking and called on administrators to remain vigilant, observant of behavioural changes, and proactive in protecting vulnerable students.