Nollywood urge to join hands in fight against human trafficking
By Matthew Eloyi
Nollywood actors have been urged to join hands in the fight against human trafficking as they play a vital role in society.
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr Fatima Waziri, made the call at the premiere of the movie ‘Enslaved’, a film based on the fight against human trafficking and child labour in Nigeria.
The movie which is an initiative of the Media Aides for Development Foundation was premiered alongside the launch of a rural sensitization campaign – One Community Campaign.
It was gathered that the newly launched campaign seeks to deploy big screens to sensitize rural community dwellers with educationally entertaining content such as ‘Enslaved’.
The DG, represented by Mrs Jessica Arikpo, the Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer from the Public Enlightenment Department of NAPTIP, said that the film industry, both in Nigeria and across the world, had over the years played a vital role in the agency’s agenda of meeting its mandate.
It was reported that that the movie, Enslaved, was directed and produced by Ugochukwu Ohuonu, aka Twenty Mouth.
Enslaved is a true-life story on human trafficking, child labour, and sexual exploitation of young Nigerian girls who are trafficked within states to big cities to further their education by people they hold in high esteem in their communities.
But on arrival to the city, some were introduced into prostitution and compelled to make daily returns in exchange for their livelihood.
As a result, many lost their lives for money ritual purposes by men who patronize them. Some were infected with diseases because the men do not consent to the use of condoms and some were not infected but were pregnant as a result of unprotected sex.
Their babies were sold and if they die in the process, the perpetrators clean up the mess. More so, others were sold as domestic slaves who are subjected to all manner of tortures and stopped from attending school.
Nollywood urge to join hands in fight against human trafficking
