We were promised jobs, but forced into prostitution – Human trafficking survivors

Survivors of human trafficking, repatriated from Côte d’Ivoire at the weekend through the intervention of Air Peace, have recounted how false promises of employment abroad lured them into exploitative conditions, especially prostitution. Among the latest group of 78 Nigerians returned from Côte d’Ivoire, many said they were deceived with assurances of job opportunities but ended […]

Survivors of human trafficking, repatriated from Côte d’Ivoire at the weekend through the intervention of Air Peace, have recounted how false promises of employment abroad lured them into exploitative conditions, especially prostitution.

Among the latest group of 78 Nigerians returned from Côte d’Ivoire, many said they were deceived with assurances of job opportunities but ended up in harrowing situations.

Seventeen-year-old Mercy Silverson (not her real name) had hoped to achieve financial independence, but her journey turned into captivity. She said a woman named Mary offered her and six others a restaurant job in Côte d’Ivoire, only to force them into prostitution upon arrival in 2023.

“I was learning tailoring in Ekpoma before I met a woman who saw my sewing skills and told me there was good money in Côte d’Ivoire. She said after a few months of hustling, I could return to Nigeria.

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“She promised a restaurant job, helping to sell food for a salary of 1.5 million CFA a month. That was why I agreed to travel,” Mercy recalled.

She added that at the border, they were instructed to lie, claiming they were going to assist a sister who owned a restaurant in a village.

After a three-day journey, they were received warmly and given food and two days to rest. However, the promises soon turned into a nightmare.

Their supposed employer took them to the market, bought revealing clothes, and threatened them with death if they resisted prostitution.

“She said if we refused, she would call boys to kill us. So, we kept quiet and began ‘hustling,’ paying her 1.5 million CFA.”

She described the brothel as a ghetto where men came to satisfy their sexual urges. The trafficker gave them drugs to abort pregnancies and also administered five-year family planning to prevent conception.

Mercy said she regained freedom after learning about the Nigerian Embassy.

“When we got information about the Nigerian Embassy, we ran there and explained our situation. The staff promised to bring us back to Nigeria,” she said.

She warned other teenagers against believing in enticing job offers.

“They should never follow anyone to another country. If you must travel, go on your own. They will tell you it’s food selling, but it’s prostitution,” she said.

She also revealed that they left Nigeria without their parents’ consent.

“They told us not to inform our parents. But when I got there and realised it was prostitution, I texted my mom,” she added.

Mercy appealed to the government for support to resume her education and tailoring work.

 

I was four months pregnant when I was lured – 24-year-old survivor

Funmi Igbaladun (not her real name), a 24-year-old from Osun State raised in Edo, was convinced by a friend in Abidjan who promised her a supermarket job with a salary of N200,000-N300,000.

“I told her I didn’t have transport money, and she said not to worry,” Funmi said.

Funmi, who was four months pregnant at the time, initially refused when she realised it was sex work. But her friend threatened her.

“She said it is prostitution work, that I will be sleeping with different men. I was like, why did you lie to me? I said, I cannot do that. I cannot do such a thing.

“She said that if I don’t do that, she will cut my hair and take it to the herbalist’s place,” Funmi said.

Funmi said she lost count of the number of men who had sex with her and was pressured to abort the pregnancy.

She described the experience as horrific and deeply regretted the trip.

“Yes, I regret it because she told me that it was a supermarket, but when I got there, it was prostitution,” she said.

One of the two male returnees shared how he was first arrested in Monrovia due to incomplete documentation.

After being stranded at the border for two months, he journeyed to Côte d’Ivoire seeking better opportunities but found himself homeless and unsupported.

“I didn’t know anyone and had no place to stay,” he said.

 

Beyond sex trafficking, girls forced to work as gold miners

The President of the Nigerian Community in Côte d’Ivoire, Michael Emeka Onwuchelu, has revealed that Nigerian girls are trapped in forests across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali, where they are forced to work as gold miners.

He explained that many of the girls endure horrific experiences, including being coerced into marrying farmers. He urged the federal government to pay greater attention to the plight of its female citizens.

“I have sent this message to the appropriate authorities-Nigerians, mostly minors, are trapped in Côte d’Ivoire. They are stuck in the forests.

“It is only in these forests that gold is mined. I believe the Federal Government of Nigeria must take this matter seriously because many of these girls are dying as a result,” he said.

He noted that the exploitation within the gold mining industry is concentrated in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.

“These are the four major West African countries where gold is mined. You will find thousands of them there.

“There are camps or settlements where over 200 Nigerian girls can be found, and a large number of them are engaged in mining activities,” he added.

A total of 78 victims, who returned aboard an Air Peace flight, landed at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. The group included 75 adults and three children-73 females and two males.

The returnees were received by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Nigerian Community in Côte d’Ivoire.

 

 

‘Some rescued victims declined return to Nigeria’

Speaking on the victims’ ordeal, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Regina Ocheni, noted that some of the rescued individuals changed their minds about returning to Nigeria while already at the airport.

She emphasised that the ministry, in collaboration with NAPTIP, would continue working to ensure their safe return.

“At the point of getting to the airport, some of them had a change of heart. That’s why I said the mission is still ongoing, and with time, we will bring them back to Nigeria,” she said.

She credited the repatriation effort to the support of the Ivorian government, which played a key role in returning the victims.

The Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, warned those involved in human trafficking to desist, disclosing that two suspects have already been apprehended.

She commended Air Peace for its support in the repatriation efforts.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Air Peace Airlines for their generous and patriotic assistance in facilitating the safe return of these victims. Your partnership is a shining example of how the private sector can meaningfully contribute to national efforts,” she said.

The chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, reiterated his commitment to supporting the country, adding that the returnees’ medical needs would be fully covered.

“I have already enrolled all of them at the Duchess Hospital,” he said.

He also credited the success of the repatriation to social media activist Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, who exposed the human traffickers’ atrocities.