The Edo State Government has said it will collaborate with the United States (US) Consulate in Nigeria to mitigate irregular migration and human trafficking incidence in the State.
The Commissioner for Social Development and Gender Issues, Mrs Christabel Omoh Ekwu disclosed this during a visit by US delegates in Benin City.
According to her, the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration has put in place several measures, policies and legislation to sustain the fight against sexual based violence, among which is human trafficking.
On areas of collaboration with the US Consulate, she said, “We also talked about capacity building, collaborating with the US Government to enhance the capacity of the people at the rural level. We talked about sensitization and awareness creation because we discovered that people at the rural level are not abreast with the information that things that happened at the city so they are prone to deception and are gullible.”
On her part, the head of the US delegation and Foreign Affairs Officer, TIP Office, Washington D.C, Kelsey Brennan, said the team was in Edo State to know the state efforts at combating human trafficking and illegal migration, challenges faced and the ways US can support the state.