How Nigerian girls are forced into prostitution in Mali

• Agents keep victim’s pubic hair, finger nails as collateral
 By SAM OTTI
It is disheartening that Nigeria is enlisted among African countries with the highest number of women trafficked to Europe for commercial sex business. Reports indicate that 50,000 Nigerian women are trafficked to Europe every year for prostitution.

 Trafficking of women and children across local borders in Africa has been on the increase, despite counter measures by government agencies and anti-trafficking organisations.

 Recently, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related matters (NAPTIP) recorded an outstanding feat when it rescued and evacuated 104 victims of human trafficking, mostly young ladies, from Mali. On the global scene, more shocking reports indicate that more than 20 million women have been trafficked into the global sex market to feed the insatiate lust of men.

 Trafficking became a global discourse in 2000, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women and Children. No fewer than 110 countries have signed and ratified the Protocol, yet, not much success has been recorded in the global campaign to end this vice. Aside the fact that perpetrators of the crime parade themselves like demigods, victims of their inhuman acts are abandoned by the government or forced to seek refuge under the roof of compassionate organisations.

 According to NAPTIP, over 54 traffickers have been convicted and sentenced but thousands of victims are still holed up in Mali, as well as in Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. In spite of commendable efforts of various countries in countering this vice, emerging reports from both the local and international scene indicate a stunning failure in halting the heavy trafficking of women and children.

 The Co-ordinator of the Committee for the Support of the Dignity of Women (COSUDOW), Rev Sister Patricia Ebegbulem, said an overwhelming number of minors, particularly girls, are trafficked out of the country each year for sexual exploitation.

 One of the victims was an 18-year-old girl, Happiness (full names withheld by us), who worked with a hospitality industry in Abuja before she was deceived by one of their customers to travel abroad. She resigned her job and was taken to Bamako in Mali, where she was forced into commercial sex trade. She passed through hell for months until luck smiled on her when the officials of NAPTIP stormed the area and rescued her.

 Narrating her plight, the victim said a friend lured her into taking the trip through some diabolical powers. Daily Sun investigation revealed that such victims are forced to take a blood oath before the journey, pledging to die if they ever go contrary to the agreement or disagree with their sponsors. Unknown to the victims, hard times await them abroad where they are forced into prostitution to offset the cost of their trip.

 Our reporter gathered that victims’ pubic hairs, finger nails and inner wears, often immersed in their monthly flow, are often kept as collaterals by the juju-priest that administer the blood covenant, with the threat that death would visit the victims if they fail to abide by the terms. On getting to their destination, the young ladies are initiated into commercial sex trade through drug ingestion or frequent exposure to pornographic films and live viewing of sexual acts.

 As part of the measures to end trafficking at the recruiting stage, the management of Loral International Day Secondary School, Festac Town, Lagos, recently organised an awareness programme on the dangers for her pupils and their parents. The programme, which was held along with the commissioning of new prefects of the school, had in attendance the proprietress, Chief Loretta Nwosu, representative of the Parents Teachers Association, Mrs. Adaobi Onyejekwe, Director of School Affairs, Chief Crawford Ndukwe, as well as teachers and parents.

 Headmistress of the nursery school, Mrs. Etoh Lawrentia, told Daily Sun that the awareness programme became necessary to forewarn parents and pupils of the activities of secret agents that tempt young girls with promises of juicy jobs or scholarships abroad.

 Etoh said some parents could play into the hands of these agents that masquerade as travelling agents and education consultancy firms. She noted that with the inordinate desire for overseas study by most people, several children are potentially at the risk of getting into wrong hands.

 “We decided to hold this discussion on this day that we are inducting new pupils and commissioning our prefects, so that the message would get to the teachers, our pupils and their parents as well. Child trafficking is a serious crime that must be brought to the notice of everybody”, she said.

 In her speech, the guest speaker, who is also a member of the Religious Sisters of Charity working with the Committee for the Support of the Dignity of Women (COSUDOW), Rev. Sister Justina Nelson, said over 20 million women have been trafficked into the global sex market.
 Nelson said over two million persons fall victims of trafficking every year throughout the world, describing the business as the second largest criminal industry globally. She said those kept in brothels abroad are compelled to sleep with no fewer than 30 men on daily basis.

 She also decried the increasing reports of local trafficking of children across African countries. She said some agents recruit children from poor families and source employment for them in the cities as house helps. According to her, these child-labourers could work as long as five years without getting any benefit in return. Instead, their salaries end up in pockets of these agents, who pretend to be saving it for them.

 She urged parents to keep watch over their children and resist the temptation of sending their daughters abroad through agents and other sponsors that could present themselves as benevolent sponsors. She further warned young women against the activities of fake employment agencies that promise juicy employment opportunities abroad.
 Responding on behalf of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Mrs. Adaobi Onyejekwe, commended the school for organising the programme and encouraged other parents to spread the campaign against trafficking in their localities.