ASABA: The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) has urged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to adopt stronger strategies to combat Trafficking in Persons and Violence Against Persons (TIP-VAP) in Nigeria.
The call was made in Asaba during the opening of a training workshop organised by the centre in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
The three-day workshop is designed for partner CSOs on community sensitization approaches for the prevention of TIP-VAP in five states.
Mrs Rhoda Dia-Johnson, Project Manager of the Schools Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP) of ICMPD Nigeria, said the participating CSOs were drawn from Delta, Edo, Ogun, Enugu and Benue states.
She explained that the STEAP-TIP-VAP project, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, is being implemented by ICMPD in collaboration with NAPTIP and the Federal Ministry of Education.
According to her, the workshop is aimed at reviewing the activities carried out by partner CSOs in 2025, assessing challenges and strengthening operational capacity.
“We work with one civil society organisation in each participating state, so this workshop is to review what they have done, examine the challenges they faced and determine how best to address them,” she said.
Dia-Johnson added that two new CSOs had joined the programme and would be trained on administrative procedures, financial management, report writing and the use of project templates.
She noted that the workshop also marked an expansion of the CSOs’ activities beyond Trafficking in Persons to include Violence Against Persons.
“So, the sensitization messages to communities will now cover both TIP and VAP so that citizens become familiar with the provisions of the Violence Against Persons Act,” she said.
She urged participants to obtain abridged copies of the Act and disseminate its provisions widely within communities.
Dia-Johnson noted that the four-year STEAP project would run until 2027, adding that discussions were ongoing with the donor on the possibility of a second phase.
“We are already surpassing some of the targets set for the project, particularly in terms of reach and impact,” she said.
If approved, she added, the second phase could extend the programme to additional states.
Also speaking, the Commander of NAPTIP’s Benin Zonal Command, Mr Sam Offiah, said the collaboration between the agency and ICMPD had yielded positive results in tackling human trafficking and violence against persons.
He urged CSOs to intensify community sensitization by educating residents on warning signs of trafficking and encouraging reporting.
“NAPTIP’s mandate is to eliminate human trafficking in our society, and women and children remain the most vulnerable,” he said.
He explained that under the STEAP project, anti-trafficking and violence vanguards had been established in schools to sensitise students and mobilise them against the menace.
Responding on behalf of participating organisations, representatives of Hope Health Organisation (HHO), Delta; Girls Power Initiative (GPI), Benin City and Gender Development Initiative (GDI), Ogun State, pledged to apply lessons from the workshop to strengthen anti-trafficking campaigns in their states.
