SEX TRAFFICKING RING BUSTED, 50 UNDERAGED GIRLS RESCUED
Over
50 underaged girls working in brothels as prostitute have been rescued from
three brothels in Azikiwe street mile two Diobu Port Harcourt when operatives
from Police tactical units led by National Agency for the Prohibition of
Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP) raided the area on Saturday.
The operation which lasted
for more than one hour saw officers arresting the underaged girls and their madams
who use them for the act.
An eyewitness who narrated
how the operation lasted said over 10 buses were used to convey the underaged
girls and their madams.
Recall that last two months,
a similar raid was also carried out with the arrest of some underaged girls
used for prostitution in the area.
When contacted, the Head of
NAPTIP in Rivers state, Ikediashi Nwakama who confirmed the incident reports
that investigation is ongoing and findings will be made known to the public.
Meanwhile on, Sunday, the
Nigeria Navy, in collaboration with the Nigeria Agency for the Prohibition of
Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
(NSCDC) paraded the 50 rescued underaged girls and three suspected sex
traffickers.
Lt.-Cdr. Richard Iginla, Base
Information Officer, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, said the 50 prostitutes,
mainly teenage girls were rescued in the early hours of Saturday after a
tip-off from NAPTIP.
“We got the intelligence from
NAPTIP, who had been tracking the brothels that camped juveniles with some of
them as young as 14 years of age.
“So, after NAPTIP shared
intelligence with us, a joint team was set up and we immediately went into
action to rescue the victims.
“No fewer than 50 young girls
forced into prostitution were rescued while three recruiters and operators of
the brothels were arrested,” he said.
Iginla said the brothels;
Royal Brothel and Cool Breeze Brothel both located on Azikiwe Road in the Diobu
area of Port Harcourt have been shut down.
He said that efforts were
ongoing to arrest the leaders of the sex trafficking ring, who recruits
children from villages into prostitution.
“Children are gifts from God,
and we must do everything humanly possible to protect them from all forms of
abuse and exploitation.
“The Nigeria Navy will
continue to collaborate with relevant agencies to bring to justice criminal
elements that traffic persons either on land or through the waterways.
“On conclusion of our
investigation, the suspects and victims will be handed over to NAPTIP for
further investigation and possible prosecution,” he added.
Speaking, the Head of NAPTIP
in Rivers, Mrs. Nwa-Amaka Ikediashi, said the agency would immediately
rehabilitate the victims with a focus to reintegrating them back into the
society.
According to her, the
victims, mainly under-aged girls, would also partake in different phases of
counseling, to ensure they do not continue prostitution.
“NAPTIP, as the focal agency
mandated to fight all forms of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, will
conduct a proper investigation, to ensure justice is served,” she promised.
One of the rescued minors, an
Anambra indigene, told newsmen that she was trafficked from her village to work
as a house help.
“One of my village women
brought me and two other girls from our village with the impression that we are
coming to serve in a hotel.
“Shortly after we arrived at
the hotel, she (trafficker) went outside and collected money from one woman
(brothel operator). That was the last time I saw her (trafficker).
“Later, the woman, simply
known as madam, put us in a room and told us that we would work as Ashawo
(prostitute),” she said.
The victim said she
immediately refused to work as a prostitute but after the operator threatened
her with torture and starvation, she gave in.
“In a day I sleep with more
than 10 men, and whatever money I make, I give it to my madam.
“We hustle by wearing pants
to seduce the men. After admiring what they see, they (men) take us into the
room; have sex with us, and give us money.
“We do a daily account of any
money we collect to our madam’s sister, who calculates and gives us our cut,”
she added.
However, customers of the
underaged girls have been stranded since the brothel is under lock and
key.
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