Nigerian Teenage Sex Slaves Rescued From Burkina Faso

Two teenage Nigerian prostitutes (names withheld), have been rescued from Burkina Faso where they were being used as money making sex slaves.

The teenage prostitutes, whose ages are between 15 and 16, were rescued and brought back to Nigeria by officials of Lutra Jeunes, a Burkina Faso-based non-government organisation working in conjunction with the South-South Peoples’ Association In Diaspora, another organisation working against child labour and human trafficking.

Speaking with P.M.NEWS recently, the president of Lutra Jeunes, Ochuko P. Otoba, said the teenage sex slaves are indigenes of Agbor in Delta State, Nigeria.

Otoba said the young girls were sold to a human trafficker, who eventually turned them into sex slaves for a sum equivalent to N250,000 each.

He added that his organisation was alerted by the Burkina Faso government, and “we called the attention of the Nigerian embassy here, but when they did not respond, we decided to take these steps on our own.”

The girls have, however, been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related matters [NAPTIP] with its head office in Oba-Ladejobi Street, GRA. Ikeja, Lagos.

In a letter signed by Josiah Emerole, the Head, Lagos Zone of NAPTIP, he promised that his organisation will conduct proper investigation into the matter, commending Lutra Jeunes for tackling human trafficking in Burkina Faso.

In their confession, the two sisters said their ordeal began when a native doctor in their village introduced someone to their father. The person, according to them, promised to take them to Upper Volta with the consent of their father.

The girls said when they were told of the plan to travel to ‘Upper Volta,’ they were elated, thinking that it was a European country where hoped they would enjoy a good life.

According to Otoba, a lot of Nigerian female teenagers are being trafficked to Burkina Faso on daily basis for prostitution, adding that his organisation needs more support to fight the menace effectively.