Nigerian girls to be used as prostitutes in Ghana rescued, syndicate busted

Police in Nigeria has busted a child trafficking syndicate and rescued two girls who were to be transported to Ghana for prostitution under the guise of working as sales girls.

The Bayelsa Command of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) said officials of the NSCDC raided the hideout of the traffickers following a report by a civil society group.

The state Commandant, Godwin Nwachukwu, said that Bayelsa State chapter of the Association for Awareness Against AntiSocial Behaviour (AFAAAB) had informed the NSCDC of the activities of the suspected human trafficking syndicate in Igbogene area of Yenagoa.

He said based on the intelligence, men of the NSCDC raided the suspects’ hideout on May 15, which led to the arrest of the principal suspect, one Mrs Joy Victor, 27 and two female victims aged 16 and 17 who were about to be trafficked to Ghana for prostitution again.

According to him, the victims alleged that Joy had lured and trafficked them to Ghana through Lagos on April 17, 2018 for prostitution.

“One of the victims, who narrated how they were trafficked, said they were trafficked in the guise of working as sales girls and housemaids by connecting them to a woman simply known as Rita in Kumasi, Ghana, who operated child trafficking and prostitution rings.

“The victims said while in Ghana they were subjected to sexual slavery and forced to have sexual intercourse with more than 20 men each and also told to pay N700,000 each before they will be freed to operate on their own.

“After their exposure to prostitution, they were assisted out of captivity by the Ghanaian police and deported back to Nigeria,” Nwachukwu said.

He added that preliminary investigations showed that the principal suspect, Joy had been in the child trafficking business for many years and controlled a cartel that specialised in trafficking teenage girls from Bayelsa to Ghana for prostitution.

The NSCDC commandant said they would hand over the case to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for prosecution once investigation is concluded.