By Oghenefejiro Emado
06, September 2026
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, and a non-governmental organisation, Next2None Support Initiative, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to launch what they described as Africa’s first international fashion-for-social-impact campaign against human trafficking.
The campaign, tagged “Threads of Resilience: Fashion for Freedom,” is aimed at deploying fashion, film and sports as tools to prevent human trafficking, empower vulnerable youths and restore the dignity of survivors.
The MoU was signed on August 27, 2026, by the Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Lami Adamu Bello, and the Director of Legal and Prosecution Department of the agency, Mrs Ijeoma Amugo, on behalf of NAPTIP, and by the Director-General of Next2None Support Initiative, Mr. Sam Obu Esq., popularly known as Chukky, and Mr. Frank Nwala, on behalf of the organisation.
The partnership was announced in a statement jointly signed by Obu and Nwala on Sunday.
According to the statement, the initiative will run for eight years, from 2026 to 2034, with an initial target of reaching 6,000 young people annually across Nigeria. The programme is expected to be scaled to train about 1,000 participants in each of the country’s six geopolitical zones.
It said the programme will run throughout the year and will culminate in an annual flagship event, the Global Fashion for Freedom show, to be hosted in Abuja. The global launch of the campaign is slated for the second quarter of 2027.
Commenting on the need for the initiative, Obu said the dynamics of human trafficking have changed significantly, with traffickers now exploiting digital platforms, social media, fake job advertisements, fraudulent migration schemes and online relationships to trap victims.
“Human trafficking is no longer just a law enforcement challenge; it is a crisis of poverty, unemployment, and lack of opportunity. ‘Threads of Resilience’ addresses this by moving beyond mere rescue. We are creating a sustainable, Nigerian-led international movement that uses creativity, sports, and education to establish pathways to absolute freedom and economic dignity,” the statement quoted him as saying.
The organisers said the programme is anchored on three pillars.
The first, prevention, will focus on stopping the cycle of trafficking by using fashion campaigns, school programmes, digital advocacy and community outreach to educate young people on trafficking risks and online safety.
The second, empowerment, seeks to reduce vulnerability by providing vocational training in fashion design, textile production, leather making and garment care, combined with digital and enterprise skills such as e-commerce, financial literacy and branding to enable youths to build sustainable livelihoods.
The third, rebuilding, is centred on restoring dignity through a comprehensive, confidential and respectful reintegration system for survivors of trafficking, internally displaced persons, IDPs, and returnees. This will include vocational rehabilitation, mentorship and mental health and psychosocial support.
The statement added that the initiative is engaging international partners to give it global visibility.
For fashion, it said emerging designers and survivors will showcase collections with messages of healing and freedom, while collaborations are being sought with global luxury fashion houses including Gucci, Balenciaga, Versace and Hugo Boss.
For film, the project will partner with Nollywood and international filmmakers to produce anti-trafficking movies, documentaries and awareness skits, alongside hands-on film production training for young people.
For sports, the campaign plans to build on existing grassroots talent hunt frameworks and is pursuing partnerships with international sporting bodies including FIFA for football, the International Handball Federation, IHF, for handball, and the National Basketball Association, NBA, for the deployment of athlete ambassadors and sports clinics to reach at-risk youths.
According to the statement, the project will leverage NAPTIP’s governmental leadership and technical expertise, including its capacity to facilitate collaboration with relevant government institutions and United Nations agencies, and Next2None’s track record in project implementation. A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning framework has been established to track employment rates, survivor rehabilitation outcomes and funds mobilized.
The Media Office of Next2None said diplomatic outreach and stakeholder mobilisation have commenced and called on corporate organisations, development partners, foundations, philanthropists, brand ambassadors, volunteers and foreign missions to support the initiative.
“We invite corporate organizations, international development grants, foundations, philanthropists, brand ambassadors, volunteers and foreign missions to join hands with us. Together, we can use creativity to educate, skills to empower, and partnerships to rebuild lives,” the statement added.
