A human trafficking victim, Love John, says she
slept with more than 400 men in less than five
months in the Sango Ota area of Ogun State.
slept with more than 400 men in less than five
months in the Sango Ota area of Ogun State.
Love, 22, and her 23-year-old sister, Happiness,
were lured into prostitution sometime in January by
their eldest sister, Mary.
Mary also tricked a cousin, Joy Lawrence, 25,
promising the three ladies that she could give them
jobs that would help them make a decent living.
However, by the time they discovered that they had
been trafficked, the victims said they had become
trapped.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Lawrence and another
victim fled the hotel on Monday when they could no
longer bear the pain they were subjected to.
Lawrence was reported to have been brought to the
Lagos zonal headquarters of the Nigeria
Immigration Service, which then stormed the hotel
and rescued other victims.
The agency also arrested Mary and the owner of the
hotel, one Mrs. Akpojaro Rose, an indigene of Warri,
Delta State.
It was learnt that the ladies collected between N500
and N700 per sex, paid N200 per day for hotel
rates, and made about N340,000 in savings within
the period.
Narrating her ordeal, Love told our correspondent
she did not have any formal education because their
father died when they were toddlers.
She explained that her sister lured her into
prostitution, saying she slept with an average of
four men a day.
She said, “I was learning tailoring in the village. My
sister told me she could help me get a job in
Lagos; she didn’t tell me that it was prostitution I
was coming to do. After we got to Lagos, she said
we should do this (prostitution) job so we can
make money to be able to finish my craft as a
tailor. I sleep with about four men in a day and
each of them pay me at least N500.”
Her elder sister, Happiness, also said she was not
aware she had been trafficked until she arrived in
Lagos and was introduced to prostitution.
“I didn’t go to school and I have not learnt any
trade. I came to Lagos a few months ago. My
sister didn’t tell me this was what I was coming to
do in Lagos. She said it was a good job,” she said.
Lawrence, who fled the hotel on Monday, said she
was told she would be trading when she left their
hometown in Ogoja, Cross River State.
“I ran away because I didn’t like the work. I don’t
want to do it again. I never knew this was the job,”
the victim said.
But Mary said she did not want to bring her
relatives into the trade, adding that she gave in to
pressure when they kept asking her to take them to
Lagos.
She said, “I came to Lagos with a friend in 2014
and my friend introduced me to this job. We were
first using a hotel called Happiness Hotel before we
moved to Morning Star Hotel in Sango Ota.
“When I travelled to the village, my sisters started
disturbing me that they wanted to follow me to
Lagos to go and work.
“When they continued to disturb me, I decided to
take them with me; but I didn’t tell them I was into
prostitution. I told my mother I was working in a
beer parlour.
“Each of us makes N2,500 to N3,000 daily. We
sleep with an average of three to four men and they
pay between N500 and N700.”
The 32-year-old said from January till May 16 when
they were arrested, she had saved N340,000 for the
three girls.
She, however, alleged that the hotel was raided by
some policemen from the Sango Ota division,
whom they settled with N150,000.
The owner of the hotel, Rose, told PUNCH Metro
that she gave out rooms to the girls at the rate of
N200 per day.
“I warned Mary that the girls were too young, but
she didn’t listen to me. I have 15 rooms in my
hotel and I have seven girls, who were paying me
N200 every day. If I had children of their age, I will
not allow them do this,” she said.
The Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration,
Musa Maza, who handed over the victims to the
National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in
Persons and other related matters, said the
suspects would be prosecuted at the end of
investigations
He said, “This is a human trafficking case in the
form of enslavement and prostitution. The victims
were forced into sex against their wish. Two of
them actually escaped. The whereabouts of one is
unknown, but the second victim contacted someone
who brought her to the immigration office.
“Parents should be vigilant and wary of those who
come for their children asking them to be released
in search of greener pastures. We are handing them
over to NAPTIP for prosecution. We believe this will
serve as a deterrent to those that will want to
engage in this useless business.”
http://www.punchng.com/slept-400-men-five-
months-22-year-old-trafficking-victim/
months-22-year-old-trafficking-victim/
