Police rescue 13-year-old girl, 23 others trafficked for prostitution in Lagos

A 13-year-old girl, John Agnes, who was trafficked from Akwa – Ibom State to Lagos State for prostitution, have been rescues alongside 23 others. 

The girls who were rescued by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command, were promised attractive pays for maid and sale representative jobs in Lagos. 

The girls who were trafficked by a four-man syndicate now in police net, said upon reaching Lagos,  they were taken to a shanty at Railway, Abattoir area of Agege, Lagos. 

It was gathered on Thursday, that the four suspects, Okon Felix, 32, Michael Edet Etim, 22, Victor Asuquo, 35, and Goodness Ebiefie, 32, were notorious for the crime. 

Information has it that the bubble about their operation burst following a report by one Nwana Edet Offong, who had reported that her younger sister, Offiong Mary, 19, was missing in Akwa-Ibom. 

Investigation into the whereabout of Mary, led to the discovery of the syndicate, who recruit and force girls into prostitution. 

They also make them pay N1,000 daily as rent in the makeshift houses they occupy. 

According to the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Elkana Bala, who confirmed the arrest of the suspects on Thursday, the rescued girl were mainly from Oron in Akwa -Ibom state.

 Bala said : “ Information about the activities of the traffickers reached the police in Lagos, after a missing girl in Akwa-Ibom, was said to be in Lagos. Our operatives swung into action. She was found and other girls who were also declared missing in Akwa-Ibom state were found.

“ The girls were rescued at a shanty in Abattoir area of Lagos.  They were trafficked from Akwa -Ibom to Lagos, they were forced into prostitution, where men patronise them for sexual pleasure, paying between N1,000 and N2,000.

The girls were also forced to pay N1,000 daily to their traffickers. The girls were between age 13 and 27.”Attachments area