Kogi SSA Enlists Journalists In Fight Against Child Trafficking

By Samuel Atuluku,PhD

The Senior Special Assistant to Kogi State Governor on Human Trafficking, Patience Avosuahi Amodu, has enlisted the Nigeria Union of Journalists to amplify awareness campaigns against child trafficking and abuse across the state.

Avosuahi made the appeal during a visit to the NUJ Kogi State Council headquarters in Lokoja on Thursday, saying media coverage was essential to expose trafficking networks and protect vulnerable children.

“It is through information that we know where child trafficking is being done,” she said.

The SSA, a human trafficking survivor herself, noted that her office had rescued several children from traffickers in Lokoja and handed them to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for transfer to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

“Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo appointed her to lead the anti-trafficking agency after she published a book documenting her personal experience. The governor launched the book and established the trafficking agency” she explained.

Avosuahi also announced plans to organize girl-child awareness matches in Kogi West and Kogi East senatorial districts, with the Kogi Central edition already completed.

She called on the state government to increase funding for sensitization activities.

“I know that with more support from government, I will succeed,” she said.

NUJ Kogi State Council Chairman, Comrade Ademu Haruna Saidu pledged the union’s cooperation, commending Avosuahi’s commitment to the cause.

He urged the state government to strengthen her office to enable effective implementation of anti-trafficking programmes.

“She has passion for the job, and with the right backing, she will deliver,” Saidu said.

Child trafficking remains a significant challenge in Nigeria, with vulnerable children often exploited for labour, sexual abuse, and begging across urban and rural areas.

Government agencies and civil society organizations have intensified efforts to combat the practice, though funding and coordination remain obstacles.