NAPTIP rescues five girls ‘trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire for prostitution’

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says five Benue girls trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire for prostitution have been rescued.

On Monday, a video of five girls said to have been trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire trended on social media.

The girls who spoke in the Tiv language claimed they were sold for N400,000 for prostitution in the country after they were told they were going there to work.

“We all came—four of us—but it was one person who sold us all. The lady is at home (Kwande). She connects with another lady here in Cote d’Ivoire and shares the money they sold us. We were sold for N400,000 each,” one of the girls said.

“We are here for three weeks so far. The only one, the youngest, was sold to another place. She is 14 years old, and we haven’t seen her.

“We were told that we were coming to work, but after the work, we will refund the cost of our transportation. That our salary would be N50,000, and we would pay N70,000 for transportation.

“We agreed because we know within two months we will pay the N70,000.

“Within three weeks, different men were having sex with us. Each round is 2000 CFA (N4,000).”

Confirming their rescue on Tuesday, Gloria Bai, NAPTIP zonal commander in Benue, said the girls are in the custody of the Nigerian embassy in Cote d’Ivoire.

The zonal commander noted that the woman mentioned by the girls as being responsible for their predicament has also been arrested.

Bai added that the agency is looking forward to meeting the girls to profile them and investigate how they were trafficked to the country.

“We have seen the girls and the video. The girls are there in Cote d’Ivoire,” she said.

“For now, there are five of them, and we have spoken to them yesterday, and they are safe at the Nigerian Embassy in Cote d’Ivoire.

“As of this morning, arrangements are being made for them to be brought back to the country, and we are monitoring the situation to ensure that they are brought back safely and handed over to us.

“She was picked up yesterday and is right now with the Nigerian Police Force in Kwande.

“We are also working with the police to see that we also have an audience with her to see her involvement.

“This is like another rude awakening. It’s unfortunate that the video went viral because the identities of the girls have been exposed as it’s being shared all over social media.

“It is also a call for us that we shouldn’t be in denial that our girls are being taken out everyday to African countries for all sorts of exploitation.”

Also speaking, Sewuese Anene, the Benue police spokesperson, said the suspect would be brought to the force headquarters on Wednesday for further investigation.