Alarming rise in underage human trafficking

October 04, 2019

Credits: Punch

Mesmerized by the allure of grandeur abroad, in contrast to the misery at home, vulnerable Nigerian minors are leaving the country in droves. Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Ramatu Ahmed, underlined the scourge afresh when she revealed that many teenagers were being deceived into taking the hazardous journey by the false narrative of greener pastures overseas. Mostly underage girls, they are lured by crime syndicates promising them jobs in Europe. With thousands of victims stranded in transit camps dotting the West and North African landscape, the three tiers of government have to work harder to stop the traffic.

Ahmed said that no fewer than 10,000 underage Nigerian girls had been forced into prostitution in Burkina Faso, with some working as slaves in mining sites across that country. The syndicates woo them by pretending that these transit camps across the Sahara Desert are temporary arrangements on the route to Europe. Often, that promise never materializes.