10/10/2025
Human Trafficking Threat in IDP Camps: ASHH Foundation Meets Key Stakeholders in Makurdi.
In a strategic move aimed at curbing the worrying menace of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) reportedly ravaging Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps in Benue State, the Attah Sisters Helping Hand Foundation (ASHH Foundation), a rights-based NGO with a record of humanitarian interventions across Nigeria, has held a Consultative Meeting with relevant stakeholders in Makurdi, the Benue State capital to strengthen the protection and anti-trafficking response in IDP communities in the State.
The Thursday 9th October, 2025 meeting witnessed a convergence of camp managers, desk officers in protection and human trafficking drawn from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Benueโs State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management, Child Protection Network (CPN), the Media (print, broadcast and online) as well as NACTAL which is the umbrella association of all Civil Society groups in the State waging war against Trafficking in Persons.
Addressing participants, Project Management and Capacity Building Specialist, Mrs. Joy Ijuwo explained that the meeting aimed at unveiling a project tagged, โBuilding IDP Camp Leadership Capacity to Prevent and Respond to Human Trafficking in /Benue State, Nigeriaโ, a six-month pilot project currently being implemented by ASHH Foundation with funding support from ARISE FRONTLINE FOUNDATION, a Non-Governmental Organisation based in the United Kingdom and United States which has been championing the protection of vulnerable populations and the promotion of human dignity through grassroots-led solutions.
Mrs. Ijuwo who is a leading voice and advocate against human trafficking said the project would target camp leaders, officials, community members, and the media, which would expectedly strengthen the capacity of IDP camp leaders to prevent, identify and respond to human trafficking through training and community sensitisation.
The expected project outcomes, she pointed out included functional IDP camp-based anti-trafficking response systems, trained camp officials who are able to identify and report trafficking cases early and enhanced community awareness on safe migration and trafficking.
According to her, the present spotlight on Benue State is due to the prolonged farmer/herder crises in the land which have claimed many lives and limbs leaving behind a huge number of vulnerable persons dominated by women and children.
The dire situation she noted, created a cesspit of sorry scenarios where people are striving to grasp for available chances for better living elsewhere making them vulnerable to trafficking and easy targets for the marauding men and women of the underworld daily on the prowl seeking vulnerable persons to exploit for s*x trafficking, organ harvesting, menial and dehumanizing jobs and, in extreme cases, death!
This gory situation, she confirmed gave rise to the need to train camp managers on how to identify signs of trafficking in the ICHWA and INTERNATIONAL MARKET IDP Camps, selected for this pilot phase, with focus on pregnant women, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), People Living with HIV, injured children and elderly women.
The project which would include a STAKEHERHOLDERS CONSULTATIVE FORUM: - align NAPTIP, BSEMA, traditional and faith leaders, a 3-Day capacity building โ Nigeriaโs National Referral Mechanism and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Trauma-informed care training โ equip leaders for psychosocial support.
In an interview with SWIFT MEDIA WORLD, some participants including the Camp Chairman of Ichwa IDP Camp, Msurshima Apaa and her International Market IDP Camp counterpart, Robert Nyom, the State Chairman of CPN, Amos Uzua and the Desk Officer on Human Trafficking at the State Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management, Dr. Emmanuel Zakaa hailed the ASHH Foundation and ARISE project for IDP communities.
They were unanimous in their view that the initiative would help put a plug on the dangerous leakage of precious lives trickling daily from our IDP Camps, feeding the dangerous and insatiable appetite of marauding human traffickers who are constantly on the prowl seeking who to devour on the altars of their dangerous trade which they hide behind a facade of lies and cover in an attractive wrap of juicy job offers, fake promises of sponsorship (school, football club signing) and several mouth-watering proposals.
These are the baits they dangle to deceive unsuspecting persons and families, some of whom unfortunately fall victims and ending up with a litany of โhad I knownโ and tales of woes that can neither reverse nor repair the irreparable damage and trauma they would have to live with for the rest of their lives.
By strengthening camp leadership, training officials on Nigeriaโs National Referral Mechanism and providing trauma-informed psycho-social care through this life-saving project, ASHH Foundation, backed by Arise Frontline Foundation, would be promoting both immediate protection and long-term resilience for displaced persons and vulnerable communities in Benue State.
Ashh Foundation - Nigeria
Naptip Nigeria
Okaha Women and Children Development Organisation - Owacdo
Bureau for International Cooperation and Development
Lawyers Alert Nigeria