Nigerian Youths Stage A Walk Against Crime

More than 5,000 youths die annually in cultism-related circumstances, Youth Security Roundtable Network, an NGO, has said. Henry King-Tuoyo, the Convener of the NGO, said this during a walk organised to commemorate the International Youth Day on Friday in Abuja.King-Tuoyo also said over 5,000 youths perpetrate cyber fraud just as a similar number of young women engage in prostitution in Nigeria every year.He further noted that most kidnap incidents were perpetrated by youths. According to him, the walk was organised to create awareness on the urgent need to checkmate youth involvement in crime.He urged all well-meaning Nigerians to assist the government in ensuring that the crime rate was reduced the barest minimum.King-Tuoyo said: We found out that in the last one year, we have not had reasons to smile about our youths, especially when it comes to their involvement in criminal activities such as kidnapping, drug peddling and cultism, among others.We are calling on all Nigerians and government of the day to take the necessary measures to help youths to shun crime. We are also calling on all Nigerian youths to engage in productive activities. I believe Nigeria will be great again and most importantly, youths must shun crime to ensure development in the country.King-Tuoyo attributed the high rate of crime in the country to unemployment, bad economy and bad choice of role models.In his address, Daniel Atokolo, the Assistant Director, Public Enlightenment Department, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, advised youths to shun all forms of crime. Atokoko added that trafficking persons was a new euphemism for olden days slavery and an affront to human dignity.Atokolo explained that trafficking was a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights, adding that every year, thousands of men, women and children fell into the hands of traffickers. According to him, 2.4 million people are victims of trafficking at any given time, stressing that the situation posed a serious challenge to human security at all levels.He appealed to all Nigerians to be patriotic and vigilant and blow the whistle against suspected human traffickers whenever and wherever they were identified. The participants in the Walk against Crime started from the Unity Fountain, Maitama, to Eagle Square in the Central Area, Abuja, carrying placards with various write-ups. Some of the placards read shun hard drugs, shun kidnapping, shun prostitution, shun cultism.
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