Despite ongoing efforts by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, and other security agencies, the trafficking of young Nigerian girls into forced prostitution abroad continues to persist.
Many teenage girls, including those below the age of 18, have continued to fall victim to human traffickers who lure them with fake promises of lucrative jobs in foreign countries before subjecting them to sexual exploitation.
A recent video circulating on TikTok showed a Nigerian woman appealing for urgent intervention after she and other victims were allegedly trafficked to Mali, where they were forced into prostitution.
In the video, the woman displayed images of makeshift shelters in a forested area where victims were allegedly kept by their traffickers. She also showed a pregnant woman who she claimed had suffered severe mental and physical distress after months of abuse.
She alleged that the victims lived in dangerous conditions, where criminals could attack them without consequences.
“This is the place we crossed borders to stay in Mali. Look at where we are. This place is a forest; there is no house around except these shanties.
“You can’t find anybody around except us that they dumped here. Our lives are equally in danger. They can come in here and kill anybody and go away without any issue,” she said.
The victim warned Nigerians against believing stories from people who return from some African countries claiming to have successful businesses, alleging that many girls are being exploited by trafficking networks.
“The boys and big ‘madams’ are using our girls to make millions and build mansions in Nigeria. They are crossing our girls to these African countries to make millions of Naira for them,” she alleged.
She claimed traffickers often demand millions of naira from victims as repayment for transportation and other expenses before allowing them to regain their freedom.
“When you get to this place, they will force you into prostitution and you must balance the expenses they claim they made to bring you over there, which ranges from N5 million and above before you can get your freedom,” she said.
The woman also appealed to President Bola Tinubu’s administration to intervene and strengthen border monitoring to prevent more Nigerians from being trafficked.
“We need help here. Our lives are being wasted in Mali. The government needs to do something about our borders through which all these girls are taken out of Nigeria almost on a weekly basis,” she said.
Meanwhile, the disturbing revelations came shortly after five Nigerian girls rescued from a human trafficking network in Côte d’Ivoire narrated their experiences.
The victims told journalists in Lagos that they were deceived with fake job offers in baking, hairdressing and clothing sales before being forced into prostitution after arriving in the West African country.
One of the victims, 17 year old Monica Emmanuel from Benue State, said she was introduced to a woman identified as Peace, who promised to secure a baking job for her in Abuja.
She said she was later transported with other girls from Kaduna to Lagos, where another woman identified as Blessing informed them that the supposed job was actually in Côte d’Ivoire.
Monica said they were moved through remote routes before discovering they had been trafficked.
“They locked us inside a room and warned us never to tell our parents or the police. Whenever our families called, they forced us to tell them that we were fine,” she said.
She explained that the victims were forced into prostitution and sometimes made to attend to between 10 and 11 men daily, while proceeds from their activities were collected by their handlers.
“We even bought condoms with our own money. Every expense, including food, slippers and clothing, was deducted from what we earned. We were never allowed to keep any money,” she said.
Another victim, 18 year old Juliet Timothy from Kaduna State, said she accepted what she believed was a legitimate job opportunity after completing training as a hairdresser.
“My parents thought I was travelling to Abuja for work. We only discovered the truth after we got to Lagos,” she said.
Juliet said traffickers instructed them to pretend everything was normal whenever they spoke with family members.
“When I spoke with my mother, I started crying. They immediately seized the phone from me and forced me to record a smiling video so they could convince my family that I was safe,” she recalled.
The victims eventually escaped after secretly contacting sympathetic Nigerians and officials who directed them to a human rights organisation in Côte d’Ivoire.
Their rescue was coordinated after the Lagos Zonal Command of NAPTIP contacted the Global Anti Human Trafficking Organisation, GAHTO, for assistance.
The operation was carried out in Djiboroso, Côte d’Ivoire, by GAHTO representatives with support from local authorities before the victims were safely returned to Nigeria.
Other rescued victims, including Rejoice Emmanuel, Joy Teseh and Monica Tamah, also shared similar experiences of being deceived with fake employment opportunities before being forced into prostitution.
They said they spent months under the control of traffickers and generated large sums of money for their handlers without receiving any financial benefit.
One victim said, “I got tired. I begged the police for help because I could no longer continue.”
A 38 year old mother of five also appealed to the Nigerian government to support her with a legitimate business opportunity to rebuild her life after returning home.
Migration experts have linked the persistence of human trafficking to economic hardship, unemployment and alleged compromise among some border officials.
Migration expert Osita Osemene said many young Nigerians become vulnerable to traffickers because of the search for better opportunities.
“But when they are willing to work and can’t find any job in the country, they would jump at job offers outside Nigeria without thinking twice,” he said.
He urged the government to address economic challenges, create more employment opportunities and strengthen border security.
According to him, many victims are deceived because traffickers hide the reality of what awaits them abroad.
“They won’t tell you the truth because if they do, you may not want to go and these are traffickers who live off these migrants,” he said.
Osemene also called for improved monitoring of border officials, noting that stronger enforcement would make it more difficult for trafficking networks to move victims across borders.
The survivors’ experiences highlight the continued threat posed by human trafficking networks that exploit vulnerable Nigerians through deception, coercion and forced prostitution.
