NAPTIP warns that traffickers now groom children on social media and threaten to leak private pictures

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has warned that human traffickers increasingly use social media to groom children, and urged students to report suspicious approaches, according to The Whistler.

The warning came at the inauguration of Anti-Human Trafficking Vanguard Clubs at Eyaen Secondary School and Umagbae Secondary School in Edo State. The clubs are part of the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP) run by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

Mrs Tonia Mgbemeje, Assistant Director, Legal and Prosecution Unit of NAPTIP's Benin Zonal Command, said prevention is one of the agency's key strategies. "Prevention is proactive," she said. "We want to stop the issue of trafficking before it is even carried out. How do we do it? We go to schools and sensitise the children."

She said traffickers use platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to build relationships with children before luring them into exploitation, and that some victims are threatened with the exposure of private pictures after being manipulated into sharing them online. "Traffickers can traffic somebody from here to Italy without you meeting the trafficker personally," she said. "The person will be talking to you through social media."

She listed warning signs: promises of attractive jobs or scholarships abroad, demands for secrecy from parents and teachers, and pressure to swear oaths before traditional or spiritual authorities. Trafficking can lead to sexual and labour exploitation, organ harvesting, disease and death, particularly when victims take dangerous journeys across deserts and seas, she said. She urged students to discuss suspicious offers with trusted adults rather than keep them secret.

Daniella Ige, a Junior Project Officer with ICMPD in Edo, said the project is expanding its school-based advocacy programme, with 37 schools expected to be covered across three phases. The first phase covered 10 schools and the second 15, with 12 more in the current phase. The project initially targeted 50 schools, with about 30 students joining each club, which would give 1,500 student advocates.

The school visits are one of the ways the agency tries to reach children before traffickers do.

Parents can help by knowing who their children chat with online, asking about job or scholarship offers from strangers, and reporting suspected cases to NAPTIP or the police. The agency's message to students is simple: do not keep secrets with people you meet online, and tell an adult you trust.