Some of the girls recently rescued from a brothel by security operatives and officials of the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare have claimed that they paid their ‘Madam’ N40,000 daily to remain in business.
The sex slaves said they were forced to pay the money before they were given out to men to sleep with.
The victims, aged between 15 and 25 years, also said that they were mandated to make returns of N10,000 to N15,000 each night, while each man they slept with paid them N1,000.
One of the girls said that she was forced to sleep with 50 men in a week to be able to make enough money for the returns.
According to some of the victims, they were brought to Awka by two women, whose names they gave as Ifeoma and Chika from their places in Izza, Ebonyi State on the promise of securing jobs for them, not knowing that they were being lured into prostitution.
One of the girls said: “The women who brought us to the brothel seized our phones and other belongings before handing us over to another woman called Ezenwannyi, who notified us that before we will be released, we must bring N150,000 or serve her for a period of one year.
“We were able to use a whistleblower’s phone to get across to our families, who in turn, notified the Women Affairs Ministry, which with the help of the police, raided the brothel”.
One of the parents of the victims, Mrs Uchechi Friday, said immediately after her daughter got missing, she lodged a complaint at the Police station in Abakaliki, adding that she was shocked when she received a call from her daughter, which made her seek help from the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra State.
She commended the Anambra State Commissioner, Mrs Ifeyinwa Obinabo for her prompt response and urged parents to always be mindful of their children’s welfare and whereabouts.
Obinabo spoke of the state government’s resolve to end all forms of child kidnap, trafficking and sexual slavery in the state.
She warned that hotel owners, who use underaged girls in running their businesses would face the law, assuring that the current case of sex slavery in the state was already receiving the attention of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, who has vowed not to treat the matter with levity.
Obinabo said she had since contacted the victims’ family members after taking them to the hospital for medical examination and possible treatment.
She also explained that the case had since been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka for comprehensive investigation and possible prosecution.
