250 children have been discovered aboard a ship in the Gabonese port.
The children who were allegedly sold to human traffickers by their parents
or guardians were taken to Gabon where they were to be resold into child
labour or slavery of all kinds.
The ship, which was refused to dock at the Gabonese seal port upon the
discovery of its human cargo, returned to the seal port of Duala in Cameroon
where it was also refused docking. The ship is on its way back to Benin's
main seaport in Cotonou where it was loaded with its human cargo and is
expected today after touring a distance of 2000 kilometers.
Meanwhile, Benin's Minister of Information, Mr. Garston Zardzo, has
pledged his government's preparedness to receive the children at a reception
centre in Cotonou. Zardzo also disclosed government's decision to drastically
deal with all parents, relatives and traders involved in this notorious
human trafficking.
According to Zardzo, the children aboard the ship are between the ages
of 9,10,and 11, who are able to help government in the relocation of their
parents or guardians.
These children are said to have hailed from the two West African countries
of Togo and Benin.
In a related development during the week, the Nigerean government organised
a workshop for its Traditional Leaders in the capital of Niamey
The workshop which was organised in a bid to discourage Niamey's Nigerean
traditional leaders from their indulgence in the ancient African international
trade "the slave trade" that is perpetrated by them ended yesterday 13th
April.
At the end of the workshop, one of the chiefs openly apologised to his
subjects for his role in the institution of forced marriages. He pleaded
for forgiveness for the action which he said was done out of ignorance
on his part. He thanked the government for its effort in educating and
exposing them to the dangers of dehumanizing their subjects.
