French Embassy Trains 23 Victims of Child Trafficking

THISDAY Online

August 3, 2006—Twenty three young girls, belonging to a group of 67 kids discovered hidden in a truck in Lagos sometime on March 5 last year have successfully completed a French Embassy sponsored rehabilitation training.

The French Ambassador in Nigeria, Yves Gaudeul would today present diploma certificates and sewing equipment to the girls.

The kids, who were allegedly being trafficked from Edati Local Government area of Niger State, were discovered by eagle-eyed security men in Lagos when a refrigerated truck was stopped for routine inspection and 67 dehydrated children were found inside. A woman and driver of the truck were arrested and have been arraigned in court.

But a press statement issued by the French Embassy signed by (Emmanuel GAGNIARRE made available to Thisday in Abuja yesterday stated that the Embassy answered to a call for funds from the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic of Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP) and granted N5.5m to the agency in order to take care of the kids and accommodate them before they could be brought back to their villages.

“With the help of the local authorities and with their families’ involvement, two training centres for a total of 40 kids were set up, in LGA Edati and in LGA Edogi, Kwara State. Aged 13 to 15, the 23 young girls have just completed a training in tailoring (14 of them) and knitting (9 of them), which started last November. Their training and the equipment they are about to receive will be an asset to their families, before they can start their own business.”

The French Embassy contributed N4m for the training of the kids and their reintegration into their families and villages even as the village is to receive a mill in order to produce shea butter products.

The statement further stated that the programme is a cooperation the embassy would like to sustain with NAPTIP and other Nigerian partners, stressing that “This event is the result of a common commitment shared by NAPTIP and the French Embassy, which started with the March 2005 discovery of 40 kids hidden in a truck, little victims of trafficking. France is a strong supporter of Nigeria and other African countries in their fight against this scourge, along with international organisations such as UNICEF and NGOs”.