The presidential candidate of the Labor Party at the 2023 general election, Peter Obi suggests that the recent surge in insecurity and poverty in the country has increased the number of slaves and people forced into child labour and various forms of sexual exploitation in the country.
Making this claim in a statement made available on his official X handle to commemorate the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, Obi lamented that Nigeria had continued to maintain bad records of having a high number of modern-day slaves.
Obi in the statement lamented that “Nigeria has continued to witness and maintain bad records of having a high number of modern-day slaves both within our borders and in terms of our citizens ‘exported’ into modern-day slavery.
He noted that the recent surge in insecurity and high rate of poverty in the country has heightened the reported number of slaves and people forced into child labour and various forms of sexual exploitation in the country.
He also explained that the constant kidnap and abduction of people by criminal elements; human trafficking and forceful exploitation of young Nigerians all demand that serious actions be taken by the government and relevant stakeholders to restore the dignity of Nigerian citizens in distress.
He therefore urged the Nigerian government and all relevant stakeholders need to make more concerted efforts to completely abolish the shameful practice and societal scourge of slavery as Nigeria should be a land of the dignity of all citizens
