Police rescue 10 girls trafficked for prostitution

Detectives from the Lagos State Police Command have rescued 10 teenage girls allegedly being trafficked to neighbouring countries in the West African sub-region around the Maza-Maza area of Amuwo-Odofin.

Lagos State police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the girls were rescued following weeks of diligent tracking of the movement of their traffickers, adding two suspects had been arrested.

Hundeyin said the discreet investigation paid off on Tuesday when the team traced the movement of two members of the syndicate to the Maza-Maza area of Mile 2 from where the girls were rescued.

He further said, “During interrogation, the girls said they came from Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River and Ogun states.

“The girls were on the verge of being moved from Maza-Maza to Seme from where they would be crossed into Benin Republic.

“The families of the girls have been contacted and they will soon be reunited with their families. We are currently on the trail of other members of the gang and they will be charged to court as soon as possible.”

One of the suspects (name withheld) claimed that he was paid CFA1,000 (about N2,500) to cross each of the girls from the Seme border into Benin Republic.

The suspect, who claimed to be a transporter and shuttled between Nigeria and Ghana, said he was contracted for the job by a female Nigerian based in Accra, Ghana.

He explained that, “I have been helping the lady to traffic young girls from Nigeria to Ghana for two years. My job is to move them into Benin Republic from where another person will take over from me. I have helped the gang to traffic several young girls about four times now. The lady operates a restaurant in Ghana.”

The girls who spoke with journalists said they were promised lucrative jobs in some of the West African countries.