Five young Nigerian women rescued from a human trafficking network have narrated their harrowing experiences after being lured with promises of legitimate employment and subsequently forced into commercial sex work in Côte d’Ivoire, where they endured months of exploitation, intimidation and abuse.

The victims, who spoke after their rescue and repatriation to Nigeria, recounted how traffickers targeted them with fake job offers in baking, hairdressing, clothing sales and other forms of menial labour, only to force them into prostitution upon arrival in the West African country.

One of the victims, 17-year-old Monica Emmanuel, a girl from Benue State, said she was introduced to a woman identified as Peace, who promised to secure a baking job for her in Abuja. Instead, she and two other girls were transported from Kaduna to Lagos, where another woman identified as Blessing informed them that the supposed job was actually in Côte d’Ivoire.

Monica said they were moved through several villages and remote bush paths before eventually arriving at their destination, where they realised they had fallen into the hands of human traffickers.

“They locked us inside a room and warned us never to tell our parents or the police the truth. Whenever our families called, they forced us to tell them that we were fine,” she said.

She disclosed that after one of the girls in their group reported the traffickers to the police in Lagos, their captors became more aggressive, confiscated their phones and threatened to sell them to other traffickers if they refused to comply with their instructions.

According to Monica, the victims were compelled to engage in prostitution, sometimes attending to between 10 and 11 men daily, while all the money generated was collected by their handlers.

“We even bought condoms with our own money. Every expense, including food, slippers and clothing, was deducted from what we earned. We were never allowed to keep any money,” she lamented.

Another victim, Juliet Timothy, 18, from Kaduna State, said she had completed training as a hairdresser before accepting what she believed was a genuine job opportunity in Abuja.

“My parents thought I was travelling to Abuja for work. We only discovered the truth after we got to Lagos,” she said.

Juliet narrated that upon arriving in Côte d’Ivoire, the traffickers instructed them to act as though everything was normal whenever they spoke with their families.

“When I spoke with my mother, I started crying. They immediately seized the phone from me and forced me to record a smiling video so they could convince my family that I was safe,” she recalled.

She further revealed that the traffickers demanded millions of naira before they would grant them freedom and repeatedly threatened to sell them if they refused to continue engaging in prostitution.

Determined to escape their ordeal, Monica and Juliet secretly reached out to sympathetic Nigerians and officials, who directed them to a human rights office in Côte d’Ivoire.

Their rescue was eventually secured through a coordinated intervention initiated after the Lagos Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) contacted Prosper K. Michael, Founder of the Global Anti-Human Trafficking Organisation (GAHTO), for assistance.

The operation was carried out in Djiboroso, Côte d’Ivoire, by GAHTO’s representative in the country, Oluwaseun Odusanya, with the support of Baro Séri of the Sous-Préfecture de Djiboroso, Commune de Kani, in the Worodougou Region.

The officials ensured the victims’ safety before handing them over to Kouadio N’Guessan, Educateur Specialisé and Director of the Centre Social de Tengrela in the Bagoué Region of Côte d’Ivoire.

Odusanya, who also serves as Chairman of the Nigerian Community in the Bagoué Region, subsequently facilitated their safe return to Nigeria.

Three other victims – Rejoice Emmanuel, 25; Joy Teseh, 24; and Monica Tamah, 38 – all Tiv women from Benue State, also shared similar experiences.

They narrated how they were lured with promises of jobs, including opportunities to sell clothes, but were instead forced into prostitution for periods ranging from three to six months.

The three women were rescued in Boundiali, also located in the Bagoué Region of Côte d’Ivoire, through another coordinated operation involving GAHTO and local authorities before being processed for repatriation to Nigeria.

One of the victims disclosed that she attended to as many as 10 clients on busy market days, while another said she generated millions of CFA francs for her traffickers without being allowed to keep any of the proceeds.

“I got tired. I begged the police for help because I could no longer continue,” one of the victims said.

Another victim, a 38-year-old mother of five, appealed to the Nigerian government to assist her in rebuilding her life through a legitimate business after her return home.

The survivors urged authorities to intensify efforts against human trafficking syndicates operating across Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries. They also warned young people to be cautious of enticing job offers promising quick employment outside their states of residence or abroad.

The successful rescue and repatriation of the five victims marks another significant breakthrough in GAHTO’s on-going campaign against human trafficking, highlighting the importance of collaboration among NAPTIP, international partners, local authorities in Côte d’Ivoire and anti-trafficking advocates in dismantling transnational trafficking networks.

Their testimonies underscore the persistent activities of trafficking syndicates that continue to prey on vulnerable Nigerians through deception, coercion and sexual exploitation, despite sustained efforts by law enforcement agencies and civil society organisations to combat the crime. (The Sun)

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