About ten Nigerian teenage girls, between the ages of 15 and 16, have been rescued by the Nigerian authorities from human trafficking and prostitution.
The girls were forced into prostitution after being reportedly lured to Ghana with promises of a better life.
Three of the victims are from the same parents, while the suspect, a Nigerian man, has been arrested and is currently in police custody.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, explained that the girls were rescued after a tip-off by NIDO, the umbrella body of Nigerians living in Ghana.
According to him, the victims were said to have revealed that they were beaten, molested, and forced into prostitution without pay, saying that their phones were reportedly seized, and they were unable to contact their parents.
According to one of the girls, “They give us out to men, and they don’t give us money; they collect everything.”
Chief Callistus Elozieuwa, the Chairman of NIDO, appealed for support to ensure the girls’ safe return to Nigeria.
Dabiri-Erewa called on the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons to take decisive action, describing the situation as “very, very heartbreaking.”
