Five young Nigerian women have recounted how they were lured abroad with promises of legitimate jobs, only to be forced into commercial sex work in Côte d’Ivoire.
The survivors, recently rescued and repatriated to Nigeria, said traffickers targeted them with fake offers in baking, hairdressing, and clothing sales before subjecting them to months of exploitation, threats, and abuse.
Monica Emmanuel, 17, from Benue State, said she met a woman named “Peace”, who promised her a baking job in Abuja. Instead, Monica and two other girls were moved from Kaduna to Lagos, where another woman, “Blessing,” told them the job was in Côte d’Ivoire.
“We were taken through villages and bush paths. When we got there, we realized we had been trafficked,” Monica said.
“They locked us in a room and warned us not to tell our parents or Police the truth. We had to lie whenever our families called.”
Juliet Timothy, 18, from Kaduna, said she had trained as a hairdresser before accepting what she thought was a job in Abuja.
“My parents believed I was going to Abuja for work. We only found out the truth in Lagos,” she said.
Juliet said traffickers seized her phone after she broke down crying while speaking to her mother, and forced her to record a video smiling to deceive her family.
The women said they were forced to have sex with up to 10 to 11 men daily. All earnings were taken by their handlers, while basic needs like food, clothing, condoms and slippers were deducted from their pay.
“They demanded millions of Naira for our freedom and threatened to sell us to other traffickers if we refused,” Juliet added.
Three other victims — Rejoice Emmanuel, 25, Joy Teseh, 24, and Monica Tamah, 38, all Tiv women from Benue — gave similar accounts. They said they were promised jobs selling clothes but were forced into prostitution for three to six months.
One of them said she attended to as many as 10 clients on busy market days and generated millions of CFA francs for traffickers without keeping any.
“I got tired. I begged the Police for help because I couldn’t continue,” she said.
The 38-year-old mother of five is now appealing to the Nigerian government for support to start a legitimate business.
Determined to escape, Monica and Juliet secretly reached out to Nigerians and officials in Côte d’Ivoire. Their rescue followed a coordinated intervention after NAPTIP’s Lagos Zonal Command contacted Prosper K. Michael, Founder of the Global Anti Human Trafficking Organization, GAHTO.
GAHTO’s representative in Côte d’Ivoire, Oluwaseun Odusanya, working with Baro Séri of the Sous-Préfecture de Djiboroso, rescued the first two victims in Djiboroso. They were received by Kouadio N’Guessan, Director of the Centre Social de Tengrela in Bagoué Region, before being returned to Nigeria.
The other three women were rescued in Boundiali, also in Bagoué Region, through a separate operation involving GAHTO and local authorities.
Odusanya, who also chairs the Nigerian Community in Bagoué Region, facilitated the safe return of all five survivors.
The survivors urged authorities to intensify the fight against trafficking syndicates operating across Nigeria and West Africa, and warned young people to be wary of “quick job” offers abroad.
NAPTIP and GAHTO described the rescue as another breakthrough in the fight against transnational trafficking, crediting collaboration between Nigerian agencies, Ivorian authorities, and anti-trafficking advocates.
GAHTO said investigations into the trafficking network are ongoing.