Lagos — I want to go and look for job at Shagamu, I have not been there before, but I want to go there, I want to go there."

15 year-old Christiana Ogudu, a suspected victim of human trafficking made the above statement believing she was heading to Shagamu western Nigeria where she would be helped to secure a job, but unknown to her, she was being trafficked to a foreign country where she would be sold into slavery.

While the National Agency for the prohibition of Trafficking in persons (NAPTIP) is devising a global approach to curbing the menace that is called human trafficking, in our country, the diehard traffickers are continually fashioning out new strategies to ferry their human cargoes across the borders and beat the dragnets of the security agencies.

Many attribute the perpetuation the trade in human beings to poverty, which involves material and intellectual poverty, while argue that the huge financial gains accruing from it makes it irresistible.

Daily Champion findings reveal that those that give out or trade their children, were mostly those that have more than the number of children they could cater for, and also those that are materially poor.

Really in Ebonyi state, South Eastern Nigeria, precisely on Thursday July 12, the State Commissioner of Police Mrs. Julie Iroha paraded a total of 121 victims of human trafficking plus 12 women allegedly involved in human trafficking offences.

There is no doubt that these children were heading to slave camps, as their acquisition prices have either been paid to their parents or local agents. Surprisingly these 121 victims of human trafficking found in two luxurious buses were later found to have come from different parts of Africa. What parts of Africa were they from you may ask.

The police boss disclosed that 92 of the number are from Mali, 14 from Senegal, one from Sierra Leone, one from Guinea Bissau, two from Mauritania, seven from Guinea, three from Niger Republic and one from Cameroon.

According to the police commissioner, the victims and the suspected traffickers were en route Cameroon from Lagos travelling in two luxurious buses that belonged to a popular transport company in Nigeria before they were intercepted by eagle-eyed detectives.

What manner of man or woman could be connected with assembling children from different African countries for supposedly slave labour overseas, using Cameroon as a transit camp.

The police chief stated that upon interrogation it was discovered that one Esther Eze from Uburu in Ohaozara local government area of Ebonyi state was in charge of the 121 persons suspected to have been trafficked.

Esther Eze no doubt could be one of the numerous trafficking syndicates that has metamorphosed into organised crime gangs operating across the world.

The likes of Esther Eze, like illicit drug syndicates, are determined to beat all international security networks to carry on their trade in human cargo.

While the Ebonyi state discovery was still on the front burner, the police in Edo state on Sunday July 15, intercepted a container load mercedes truck loaded with 62 children and underaged youths suspected to be victims of human trafficking.

All the 62, children in the mercedes benz lorry marked XH538EKY were reported to have come from the same local government council. Ebi-Iwango Wanihem village in Yala local government council of Cross River state and were heading to a neighbouring country through Shagamu, Ogun state as their transit camp.

Edo State Police Commissioner Mr. Bala Hassan whose men made the catch said that the discovery was made at the Ekiadolor point of Benin-Ore expressway when his men on duty who were on routine check discovered that the vehicle which was meant for conveying goods, had human being in it.

The Edo state police chief revealed that the children appeared to be brain washed by their captors which informed their chorusing the same answer during interogation.

Some of the children were reported to have said that they were going to Shagamu at Ijebu Ode to look for jobs.

"I want to go and look for job at Shagamu. That is why I am going to Shagamu, I have not been there before, but I want to go there, one of the victims Christiana Ogada, was reported to have said. The children were said to have not less than N500 each and similar identity cards endorsed by same signatory.

However, the children were handed over to National Agency for prohibition of trafficking in persons (NAPTIP) who are investigating into the issue to unravel those behind the human cargo.

Mrs. Funke Abiodun, Edo state NAPTIP Director reacting to the development maintained that "some body may have told them that the anti human trafficking agency is coming" which made the children become hostile, refusing to eat or drink water brought by the agency. While some human traffickers use the Lagos - Seme or Idiroko boarders to ferry children outside Nigerian boarders, others prefer the Maiduguri - Niger Republic routes and the Atlantic water ways stretching from Oron in Akwa Ibom state to Calabar and some Central African countries including Cameroon and Garbon.

In many occasions the immigration patrol team of both Cross River and Akwa Ibom states have intercepted speed boats with various trafficked people on the Nigerian territorial waters, the latest being in early July.

Various human traffickers at various times have been intercepted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos.

However those that were not trafficked out of the country end up being used for rituals, cheap labour sex slaves or as domestic slaves in many homes across the country.

Throwing more light into what entails human trafficking, NAPTIP, Director for investigation and monitoring, Alhaji Mohammad Babandede at a recent outing in Abuja said that trafficking in persons entail the exploitation and deceitful movement of persons from place to place, either for labour, sex or the removal of human organs.

He added that trafficking could be internal, external or transnational perpetrated by either a small groups or organised criminal gangs.

Babandede fingered Edo and Delta states as having the highest number of street girls or 90 per cent of women trafficked abroad, while many others are trafficked from northern states.

He said: "others are trafficked from Northern states such as Kano and Sokoto and used as beggars in Saudi Arabia."

Quoting a survey by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called TAMPEP, Babandede said that 60 per cent of street girls in Italy are Nigerians, adding that 13,000 of such girls were stranded in Libya.

Commenting on the number of persons trafficked annually, Babandede said that even though it is difficult ascertaining the number of trafficked persons "the trend is serious."

He added that NAPTIP rescued a total of 779 victims in the last four years. He maintained that those rescued were empowered with skill acquisition before re-integrating them into the society.

"Out of the persons rescued in joint operations with the police, immigration and other agencies, 337 had been trained in various vocations and re-integrated into the society."

According to Babandede, some of the vocational working tools given to them at the end of their training include, hair dressing equipment, sewing machines among other tools.

While Nigerians among the rescue victims were re-integrated into the society after empowering them with various skills, non-Nigerians among them were repatriated to their various countries. He stated that "no fewer than 24 victims were repatriated to Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, while more than 200 were sent back to Benin Republic, Togo and Burkina Faso."

He pencilled Italy, Spain Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Ireland and the Netherlands as the major receiving countries, while listing Benin, Togo, Chad and Niger as trafficking nations to Nigeria. In the same vein, Babandede listed Cameroon, Benin, Gabon and Niger as transit points for most of the trafficked persons.

Speaking on the gender and age bracket of the rescued persons, Babande said that they are within the age bracket of 13 and 22 years with the ratio standing at two males to eight females.

What then happens to the traffickers after rescuing their victims? Babanded provided answers to this. "More than 10,000 trafficking cases had been reported to the agency, while 12 barons most of them women, had been convicted."

Continuing, he said "NAPTIP lost two cases, while about 20 cases were awaiting trial". He expressed regret that radio and television jingles had not been effective in the fight against human trafficking.

Citing the agency's global approach to tackling trafficking, Babandede said "joint venture with Spain, the Netherlands and Italy were going on, while the agency was collaborating with the French, U.S and British government in area of main power having signed agreements with ECOWAS and concerned African countries to stop human trafficking."

Even as he said that the agency was confronted with the problem of resources, Babanded was quick3 to point that the people need see trafficking as crime that is evil.