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30/07/2026
WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2026
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS AN EMERGENCY: STRENGTHENING INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION AND ADVANCING JUSTICE FOR SURVIVORS
Today, the Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), Plateau State Chapter, joins the global community to commemorate the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
For us in Plateau State, this day is not merely another date on the calendar,it is a moment to reflect on the changing realities of human trafficking, the vulnerabilities affecting our children and young people, and the urgent need to strengthen the systems created to protect them.
Human trafficking thrives where poverty, unemployment, insecurity, displacement, family separation and the search for better opportunities create desperation. Traffickers understand these realities. They exploit hope, make false promises of employment, education, travel and a better life, and use familiar faces, trusted networks and increasingly, digital platforms, to recruit and deceive vulnerable people.
Plateau State has experienced the impact of insecurity and displacement over the years. Many families have been uprooted, livelihoods disrupted and children exposed to different forms of vulnerability. These realities demand that the fight against trafficking be treated as an emergency requiring prevention, early identification, protection and coordinated action.
NACTAL Plateau State acknowledges the commitment of the Plateau State Government, under the leadership of His Excellency, Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, in promoting the welfare and protection of children and young people. The Governor has publicly expressed concern about child trafficking and has called for stronger action against those who exploit children. The administration’s investments in education, youth development, skills acquisition, security and support for vulnerable communities are important steps towards addressing some of the conditions that traffickers exploit.
However, the growing and changing nature of trafficking requires deeper collaboration between government institutions and civil society organisations.
Civil society organisations are often present within communities. They work directly with vulnerable families, survivors, children, young people and communities affected by poverty, insecurity and displacement. They understand local realities, identify emerging risks, support prevention, provide referrals and remain involved long after public attention has moved elsewhere.
Government has the authority, structures and resources to lead while civil society brings community access, field experience, technical knowledge and direct engagement with affected populations. A stronger partnership between government and CSOs will make prevention more effective, improve early identification and create better pathways for protection, justice and reintegration.
Interagency collaboration must therefore go beyond meetings and ceremonial commitments. It must translate into timely information sharing, coordinated case management, effective referral systems, joint prevention activities, survivor protection and stronger investigation and prosecution of traffickers.
But as we strengthen rescue operations, we must also ask a critical question:
After rescue, what next?
Rescue is not the end of a survivor’s journey. In many cases, it is only the beginning.
A survivor may return with trauma, health concerns, fear, stigma, disrupted education, lost opportunities and uncertainty about the future. Some return to the same conditions that made them vulnerable in the first place. Without sustained support, there is a risk of re-trafficking.
After rescue, there must be access to safe shelter, healthcare, psychosocial support, legal assistance, education, skills development, economic empowerment, family tracing, reunification where appropriate and long-term reintegration.
Justice must also follow rescue.
Those who recruit, transport, harbour, exploit, finance or benefit from trafficking must be investigated and held accountable. Survivors should not be rescued and then abandoned, while traffickers return to communities to recruit more victims.
Nigeria’s referral framework recognises that government institutions and relevant partners have roles across rescue, referral, security, legal support, family tracing, psychosocial care, rehabilitation, education, skills development and economic empowerment. This confirms that an effective response must continue beyond rescue.
NACTAL Plateau State therefore calls on the Plateau State Government to deepen its collaboration with civil society organisations and relevant agencies by strengthening coordinated prevention, protection and response systems across the state.
We call for:
- stronger government–CSO partnerships in child protection and anti-trafficking programmes;
- functional and responsive referral pathways across communities and local government areas;
- increased support for survivor rehabilitation and sustainable reintegration;
- improved access to justice and stronger prosecution of traffickers;
- greater investment in education, skills development and livelihood opportunities for vulnerable children and young people;
- community-based awareness and early-warning systems that can identify trafficking risks before exploitation occurs.
The fight against human trafficking cannot be won by government alone. It cannot be left to law-enforcement agencies alone. It cannot be carried by civil society alone.
Every institution has a role. Every community has a responsibility. Every survivor deserves protection, dignity and a real opportunity to rebuild.
As we mark this year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, NACTAL Plateau State renews its commitment to prevention, protection, partnership and justice.
We must move beyond counting the number of people rescued and begin asking whether survivors are safe, supported, restored and protected from being trafficked again.
Human trafficking is an emergency.
Collaboration is a necessity.
Rescue is only the beginning.
Rehabilitation and reintegration must follow.
Justice must reach the survivor and hold the trafficker accountable.
SIGNED:
NACTAL Plateau State Chapter
30 July 2026
END THE SALE OF HUMAN BEINGS!
THEY ARE NOT COMMODITIES!
SEE SOMETHING! SAY SOMETHING! DO SOMETHING!
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
“Trapped behind the scam
There is a journey many people begin with hope.
It starts with a promise.
“A better life is waiting for you.”
“There is a job abroad.”
“You do not need to worry about the money. We will help you travel.”
“You can pay us back when you start working.”
For someone living with poverty, unemployment, insecurity, displacement, family responsibilities or the daily struggle to survive, those words may sound like an answered prayer.
But sometimes, the opportunity is a trap.
The job does not exist.
The scholarship is fake.
The travel arrangement is only the beginning of a carefully organised crime.
By the time the victim discovers the truth, their documents may have been taken, their movements restricted and a debt placed on their head. The same person who promised to help them may now demand repayment for transportation, accommodation, documents or “processing fees.”
The dream of a better life slowly becomes a life of fear, exploitation and silence.
This is human trafficking.
Today, as the world marks the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, PAAAVARF is raising its voice against a crime that continues to rob people of their freedom, dignity, identity and future.
Human trafficking is no longer carried out only through hidden routes or strangers waiting in dark places. It has entered our communities, our phones and our social media spaces.
Traffickers now use fake job opportunities, fraudulent scholarships, deceptive travel packages, online loans, false promises of domestic work and social media recruitment to reach people seeking a better life. In Nigeria, poverty, unemployment, economic hardship, insecurity, conflict, displacement, climate-related pressures and limited access to safe opportunities continue to increase vulnerability.
Many people are not taken by force.
They are deceived.
They are convinced.
They are recruited by someone they know.
And sometimes, that person is a woman.
This is one of the painful realities we must discuss honestly. Women and girls remain among the major targets of trafficking and exploitation, but some women also operate within trafficking networks as recruiters, agents, sponsors or intermediaries. They may approach vulnerable people with familiarity and warmth. They may be friends, neighbours, relatives, former victims or people trusted within a community.
They understand the language of hope.
They know what a struggling mother wants to hear.
They know what a young woman searching for employment dreams about.
They know how to make a dangerous journey sound safe.
Then the money begins.
The victim may be told that a large amount must be repaid for the journey. A debt is created, sometimes before the person even understands the conditions of the work. What was presented as assistance becomes debt bo***ge. The victim may be threatened, manipulated, isolated or forced into exploitation until the supposed debt is paid.
This does not mean that women are responsible for trafficking but in my quest to get more in depth understanding,as a front line rescue worker with years of field experience on how this heinous crime is perpetuated, I found out that most " patrons' were women.( Patron in the ring of traffickers are the modern slave master's)
Women and girls remain disproportionately affected by many forms of trafficking and exploitation. But we must also acknowledge that organised crime networks can use women as recruiters because trust is often easier to build when the person making the promise looks familiar, sounds caring or shares the same community and experiences.
Human trafficking survives by exploiting trust.
It survives because desperation can make dangerous promises look like opportunities.
It survives when people are afraid to ask questions.
It survives when victims are blamed instead of protected.
It survives when survivors return home and are met with shame instead of support.
At PAAAVARF, we believe that the fight against trafficking must go beyond awareness campaigns. Awareness is important, but it is not enough to tell people, “Do not travel.”
People will continue to seek opportunities because they want to survive, support their families, gain education and build better futures.
The real question is:
How do we make opportunities safer?
How do we protect people before they are recruited?
How do we identify exploitation before it becomes irreversible?
How do we support survivors without exposing them to further harm?
Through our work in protection, anti-trafficking, migration, community development, child protection and survivor-centred interventions, PAAAVARF continues to promote prevention, early identification, safe migration, rescue, rehabilitation, family tracing, reunification and sustainable reintegration.
We work to strengthen communities with information that can save lives.
We encourage people to verify job offers, educational opportunities, travel arrangements and recruitment agencies before making life-changing decisions.
We support a response that places the safety, dignity, privacy and best interests of survivors at the centre.
We advocate for stronger collaboration among government agencies, civil society organisations, law enforcement, communities, traditional and religious leaders, international partners and survivors themselves.
We believe that survivors should not be treated as criminals because they were deceived or forced into illegal activities.
They should be identified, protected and supported.
Across the world, trafficking is taking new forms.
People are being recruited through fake job advertisements and transported into criminal compounds where they are forced to participate in online fraud, romance scams, cryptocurrency scams and other cyber-enabled crimes. Their phones and documents may be taken. They may be monitored, threatened, beaten or forced to meet impossible financial targets.
The people carrying out the scams may also be victims.
Behind the screen may be someone who was promised a job.
Behind the fake profile may be someone whose freedom has been taken.
Behind the financial fraud may be a victim trapped inside an organised criminal system.
This growing connection between human trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud, money laundering and corruption shows why the world must strengthen cross-border cooperation and improve the identification and protection of victims.
But statistics cannot fully explain this crime.
Numbers cannot describe the fear of a young woman who discovers that the job she travelled for does not exist.
Numbers cannot explain the pain of a mother waiting for a child who has disappeared along a dangerous migration route.
Numbers cannot tell us what it feels like to return home carrying trauma, debt and shame.
That is why I will be taking you through my journey across Africa.
Not as a tourist.
Not only as an observer.
But as someone who has listened, learned and worked within communities affected by trafficking, unsafe migration and exploitation.
I will share the stories behind the journeys.
The promises that were made.
The routes people travelled.
The people who recruited them.
The systems that failed them.
The survivors who found the courage to return.
And the questions we must continue asking if we truly want to dismantle this organised crime.
Because human trafficking is not only about crossing borders.
It can happen within our communities.
It can begin in a home, a school, a market, a social media message or a conversation with someone we trust.
It is not always a story of chains.
Sometimes, the chains are debt.
Sometimes, they are threats.
Sometimes, they are fear.
Sometimes, they are shame.
And sometimes, the prison is hidden behind a promise of a better life.
Today, PAAAVARF stands with survivors.
We stand with families still searching.
We stand with communities working to prevent exploitation.
We stand with every organisation, institution and individual committed to protecting human dignity.
Human trafficking is not a private problem.
It is a global crime and a shared responsibility.
We must disrupt the recruiters.
Expose the false promises.
Strengthen safe migration.
Protect survivors.
Hold traffickers accountable.
And build communities where poverty and desperation cannot be used as weapons against vulnerable people.
Because no human being should be trapped behind a scam.
No dream should become a prison.
And no person’s hope should become another person’s profit.
PAAAVARF will continue to speak, act, protect and advocate until freedom is no longer a privilege but a reality for everyone.
30/03/2026
The official statement of Peace Advancement Action Against Violence and R**e Foundation,
today 30 March 2026,on the unfortunate incident that occurred on Sunday 29th of March,by 8pm at Angwan Rukuba,Jos North LGA, Plateau State,North Central,West Africa.
Our hearts are heavy and honestly we are tired. Tired of writing statements like this, tired of mourning people who should still be alive, tired of watching harmless citizens massacred and killed, tired of watching the same story repeat itself across Plateau State and Nigeria.
What happened in Angwan Rukuba (Gari Ya Waye) in Jos North on Sunday evening is not just painful, it is heartbreaking. Over 25 lives gone. Men ( fathers,sons, brothers , uncles, husbands, grandmothers) women ( mothers, daughters,sisters,wives,aunties, grandmothers), children ( boys,girls) young adults,teenagers. People who woke up that morning not knowing it would be their last.
And again we hear the same words, unknown gunmen.
So let us ask, when will these unknown gunmen be known? When will the mask finally be unmasked?
What happened to the (EWERS) early warning,early response systems?
What exactly is the problem?
Are these dark souls truly faceless?
Are they spirits or is something simply not being done right? Because people do not just carry out attacks and vanish without a trace.
While we keep saying unknown, families are burying their loved ones with great sorrows ,tears and excruciating pains.
The poor keep paying with their lives for crimes they did not commit.
The vulnerable and indigent continue to suffer for failures they did not create.
Enough is enough!!!
An unsafe society is not just about killings,it is about fear becoming normal. It is about children growing up learning fear before they learn hope. It is about communities breaking along religious and ethnic lines.
Young people who should be friends are now divided again.
By religion.
By ethnicity.
By suspicion.
This is how cycles of violence are sustained.
At PAAAVARF we work in peacebuilding, protection, rehabilitation, reintegration and healing, so we see beyond the headlines. Trauma does not trend but it stays. Anger grows quietly. Trust disappears and before long the same story repeats.
So no, it is not just about displacement,it is not just about deaths. It is about the future we are slowly destroying if we still sweep this under the carpet and do nothing different.
We acknowledge the Plateau State Government for the curfew put in place to restore calm. It is necessary,but calm is not safety and restriction is not protection.
What we need is deeper than reaction.
What we need is change.
We need a complete overhaul of the security architecture in the state,with intentional investment in community policing and intelligence-driven systems.
We must begin to build a society where peace is not accidental but intentional.
The government has shown that when it comes to taxes and revenue, there can be structure, urgency, enforcement, and clear deadlines. Citizens are given timelines and compliance is expected. So we must ask, why can the same level of urgency not be applied to protecting lives? Why are there no clear, time-bound commitments to identifying perpetrators, dismantling these networks, and restoring safety?
If citizens can be given deadlines to pay, then security agencies should be given deadlines to act. Why do those who take lives remain “unknown,” and when will they be found, named, and brought to justice?
Lives should not be treated as an open-ended responsibility, and they must never be seen as less important than revenue.
The citizens are demanding for:
✅ A well functioning and accountable government where people feel protected not abandoned
✅ A sound business environment where citizens can live and work without fear
✅ Equitable distribution of resources so no community feels pushed aside
✅ Acceptance of the rights of others so differences do not become division
✅ Good relations between neighbours so communities stand together
✅ Free flow of information so people are informed and not left in fear
✅ Human capital development so our youth are empowered not divided
✅ Low levels of corruption so justice is not selective and security is not compromised
These are not big grammar. These are the foundations of peace.
We are calling on government at all levels to wake up to the cries of the people they took an oath of allegiance to protect.
Let the poor masses breathe.
Let their fundamental human rights be respected.
They have the right to live.
They have the right to feel safe.
They have the right to exist without fear.
The right to life is not just about not being killed but people should be safe in their homes and communities
The government MUST prevent violence, not just respond after.
Citizens should not live in constant fear of being attacked and security systems must actually protect lives effectively.
Under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (Section 33), every person has the right to life, and no one shall be intentionally deprived of their life except in very limited legal situations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 3) states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”
But right now, it feels like these rights are becoming privileges.
And let this be clear
👉 Lives are not disposable.
👉 Lives are not statistics.
👉 Lives are not political talking points.
They are human beings,let lives stop being toyed with.
We DEMAND justice for the victims and survivors.
Not silence
Not promises
Not explanations
Not palliative
JUSTICE!!!
Those responsible MUST be found!
They MUST be named!
They MUST be held accountable!Until justice is seen and felt, the wounds will remain open and the cycle will continue.
To the people of Angwan Rukuba, we see you and we stand with you. Your pain is not invisible.
And to all of us, this is not just their story, it is ours. Because an unsafe society does not choose where it goes next.
Peace is not automatic,it must be built, protected and defended.
Right now, we must do better
We need ACTION not PROMISES!
We need JUSTICE not DELAYS!
Every life lost is not just a statistics,it is a failure of protection. Until justice is seen and felt,peace will remain a promise,not a reality.
Amb Vivien E Abara
Executive Director PAAAVARF
State Coordinator,NACTAL
State Coordinator, CSONETMADE
Positive Peace Activator,West and Central Africa.
UNODC - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
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