(The suspects. Photo Credit: Punch News)
Human trafficking survivors have described how they were enticed from Nigeria with promises of employment and a better life in Côte d’Ivoire, only to find themselves in prostitution, forced labor, and sexual exploitation.
Monica, 17; Juliet, 18; Rejoice, 25; Joy, 22; and Monica, 38 are among the victims who were rescued.
They claimed that traffickers took advantage of their aspirations for a brighter future by making bogus job offers.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and pertinent Côte d’Ivoire authorities collaborated to rescue the victims.
According to a statement released on Thursday by Prosper Michael, the founder of the Global Anti-Human Trafficking Organization.
Recounting her ordeal, Monica said she had accepted a bakery job offer in Abuja before being taken through Lagos to Côte d’Ivoire.
She explained that she informed her parents because she believed the offer was genuine, only to later realise there were no jobs after she and others were locked in a room.
She added that the victims were instructed to tell anyone who contacted them that they were safe, despite being forced to work, recalling that when she spoke to her mother and began crying, her captors immediately seized the phone from her.
She said they kept deducting money from the little the victims earned without explanation, adding that she and another victim eventually escaped with the help of local residents and reached out to GAHTO.
Another survivor, Monica Tamah, said she had travelled abroad hoping to provide for her family and fund her daughter’s education, only to be forced into pr0stitution.
She explained that on arrival, they discovered there were no jobs and were instead told they had been brought for pr0stitution and would have to repay transportation debts through s3x work.
She claimed that she and other victims were forced to sleep with as many as 15 men daily, with their captors reportedly making about 50,000 CFA francs a day from them while the women received little or nothing, noting that she remained in captivity for about six months before she was rescued.
GAHTO said its representative in Côte d’Ivoire carried out the rescue with the support of local authorities, disclosing that three other victims from Benue State were rescued in a separate operation.
The organisation described the operations as a major breakthrough in its campaign against human tr@fficking and the protection of vulnerable Nigerians across West Africa.
It urged Nigerians to verify overseas employment and migration offers through appropriate government channels, remain vigilant against suspicious recruiters, and promptly report suspected tr@fficking cases to law enforcement agencies.
While also calling for stronger collaboration among governments, security agencies and international partners to dismantle tr@fficking networks, rescue victims, and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.