In June 2024, the Plateau State Government, working through the Ministry of Women Affairs, the Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), rescued several underage girls who had been trafficked to Ghana for prostitution and sexual exploitation by an international trafficking network, PulseNets learnt.

Among those rescued were three young women aged between 18 and 20 from Plateau State. PulseNets obtained details indicating that the victims had been lured with promises of well-paying jobs abroad, only to be forced into sexual slavery after leaving Nigeria.

During interrogation following their rescue, one of the victims, identified as Regina (not her real name), 18, narrated how her aunt, her mother’s younger sister who resides in Lagos, facilitated her trafficking after assuring the family that she would help the teenager build a better future after completing secondary school.

PulseNets learnt that Regina had lost her father at the age of 10, leaving her widowed mother to care for the family alone. With little hope of further education after finishing secondary school, her mother reportedly saw the offer from her sister as a lifeline.

Regina’s aunt had promised the family that she would either send the girl back to school or arrange vocational training that would help her support her mother and four siblings.

However, the reality changed dramatically after Regina arrived in Lagos, where she discovered that the promise of education was merely a trap designed to push her into prostitution.

PulseNets reported that the victim was first taken to Burkina Faso, where she was forced into sex work, before later being moved to Ghana, where she was eventually rescued during a security raid.

When PulseNets spoke to Regina at her family home in Jos, Plateau State, she recounted the traumatic experiences that led her from hope to exploitation.

How the Journey to Sex Slavery Began

Regina explained that her ordeal began shortly after she completed secondary school in 2024.

“My journey to sex slavery actually started in 2024. I finished my secondary education that year and had high hopes of continuing my education but the prospects were bleak and I knew there was no way I could go to a higher institution.”

“I lost my father when I was 10 and my poor mother was left to cater for me and my two siblings as my father’s people had abandoned us to our fate. My mother did everything and anything to see that we had shelter over our head and food to eat. She hawked, worked at construction sites and engaged in all sorts of menial jobs for us to survive.”

“So when I finished secondary school and with no hopes of going further, I made up my mind to learn hairdressing or tailoring.”

Regina told PulseNets that in December 2024, her aunt visited Jos from Lagos and proposed taking her to the commercial city to help her either continue her education or learn a trade.

“But in December of 2024, my aunt who is my mother’s younger sister came to Jos from her base in Lagos and told my mother she would take me with her and either sponsor my education or learn a trade. With such a promise from my aunt, my mother and I had no hesitation in accepting the offer.”

“To be sincere, we did not know what she was doing in Lagos though she told us she used to travel to Ghana and other West African countries to buy goods like clothes and jewelry which she sold in Lagos. And coupled with the fact that she exuded affluence and spent a lot of money whenever she visited, we had no reason to doubt her.”

After arriving in Lagos, Regina said nothing initially appeared suspicious.

“When we got to Lagos, I did not initially notice any difference because she lived in a two bedroom flat in a nice estate but one thing I quickly observed was that she stayed indoors during the day and would go out at night with different men and would come back very late or the next day.”

“Whenever she was at home, different people, especially ladies would visit her and they would be locked in her room for hours. Whenever I broached the subject of my education, she would tell me to be patient as she was working on it.”

At some point, the aunt introduced the idea of studying abroad.

“At one point, she told me she did not want me to go to school in Nigeria and was making plans for me to go to Ghana for my studies.”

“Don’t forget that this was my aunt and I naturally felt she had my best interest at heart. I was happy that she had such plans for me and my future.”

Regina remained in Lagos for roughly three weeks before events took a dark turn.

The Beginning of the Nightmare

She recalled that her aunt later informed her they would travel to Badagry to meet a man who would arrange her admission into a university in Ghana.

“One evening my aunt told me that I should get prepared as we would be going to Badagry the next day to meet the man who was arranging for my travel and admission into a university in Ghana. I was overjoyed that at last, my dreams would come through.”

The next morning, two individuals arrived in a car and the group travelled to Badagry.

“When we got to the place, I saw three other young girls, with the youngest being around 16 years old. When we got talking, the girls said they were promised jobs in Ghana and were there to process their travel documents.”

Soon after, Regina was asked to enter a room where a man offered her a drink.

“I think it was some kind of juice but the taste was different from the normal juice but I had no reason to suspect anything, after all, I was there with my aunt and I thought she couldn’t harm me in any way.”

She later realised she had been drugged.

“After taking the drink, I began feeling dizzy and after a while, I must have passed out because after waking up some time later, I realized I was naked on a bed in another room. I felt pain in my private part and when I put my hand on it, I saw blood. The man had raped me.”

“I was still a virgin at that time and the man had taken my virginity.”

When she confronted the man, she was threatened.

“When I asked him what he did to me and where my aunt was, they told me to keep quiet and go along with them or they would kill me.”

That moment marked the last time she saw her aunt before the later arrest of the trafficking suspects.

Regina further told PulseNets that the traffickers carried out rituals meant to intimidate and control the victims.

“They also made an incision on my breast, collected the blood which they mixed with a concoction in a bowl and forced me to drink. After that, they threatened that if I should tell anyone what happened or refused to do whatever they said, that I would die within three days.”

Later that night, the victims were transported out of the area.

Forced Into Prostitution in Burkina Faso

PulseNets learnt that the girls were taken across borders before arriving in Burkina Faso.

“The next day, we arrived at the destination which I later found out to be Burkina Faso.”

They were handed over to a woman known as “Madam,” who immediately explained their fate.

“She told us she was from Edo State in Nigeria and did not mince words in telling us that we were in the country for prostitution.”

“She told me that she had paid my aunt a huge sum of money to buy me and that I have to sleep with men to pay her off before I can gain freedom.”

Regina described the ordeal that followed.

“Shortly after, the Madam left and few minutes later, a man came in and forcefully raped me. That day alone, four other men came and slept with me. The ordeal continued every other day.”

“It started with five men but with time, it could be between five and 10 men. It was an ordeal I will never forget in my life.”

Trafficked Again to Ghana

After about three months, Regina said the traffickers moved her again.

“I was in Burkina Faso for about three months before Madam told me that the place was dull and she would have to take me to another location.”

The victims were transported overnight and later realised they had been taken to Ghana.

“They took us to a house which turned out to be a brothel where we were handed over to another Madam.”

PulseNets learnt that most of the victims there were Nigerians.

“In fact, 80 percent of the girls were Nigerians from different parts of the country. I met two girls from Plateau who were also trafficked by relatives.”

She explained that the exploitation intensified.

“In Ghana, it was an average of 10 to 15 men a day. They said I was still fresh and they all wanted to sleep with me.”

“I cried daily and even contemplated committing suicide but the thoughts of my poor mother and siblings kept me.”

Rescue Operation

Her rescue eventually came during a law enforcement operation.

“All I can say is that it was by divine intervention because God saw that I was innocent and decided to intervene at the right time.”

Security operatives raided the brothel and arrested everyone inside.

“When we were taken to a police station, I realized that the Madam was also arrested along with others.”

The victims were later transferred to the Nigerian Embassy.

“The next morning, we were taken to the Nigerian Embassy where I and the other girls from Plateau State were handed over to officials of the Plateau State Gender & Equal Opportunity Commission and the Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs.”

She said the officials were deeply moved by the accounts they heard.

“The officials were crying after hearing what we had gone through and assured that we will get justice no matter what it took.”

Regina added that the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Caroline Panglang Dafur, the Chairperson of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunity Commission, Mrs Olivia Dazyem, and Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang intervened to support the victims.

Life After Returning to Nigeria

Back in Nigeria, Regina said rebuilding her life has not been easy.

“It has not been easy living with the stigma of a prostitute but since I did not go into it willingly, and with counseling from the Ministry and the Gender Commission, I have been able to live with the stigma and gradually, it is wearing off.”

She revealed that the state government has promised to support her education.

“When we came back, the Commissioner asked us what we wanted to do and I told her I would still love to go back to school and she had taken it up and had promised that the Plateau State government would give me a scholarship and see me through school to any level I desire.”

“I will be writing JAMB later this year and by God’s grace, I should be in school when the next admission cycle commences.”

She also confirmed that she and other victims were enrolled in vocational training programmes.

“The Gender Commission facilitated a training program for me and the other girls and presently, I am almost rounding up a training on catering which was fully sponsored by the Commission.”

Warning to Other Young Girls

Regina used the opportunity to warn young women about trafficking traps, even from trusted relatives.

“My advice is that they should be very careful with offers that look too good to be true, even from close relatives.”

“If my own aunt could sell me into sex slavery, only God knows what strangers could do.”

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Reflecting on her survival, she expressed gratitude.

“During my ordeal, I heard that some trafficked girls lost their lives. Some were killed when they refused to be used as sex slaves. Some lost their lives while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe but God saved me and gave me another chance. So I will always be grateful for that.”