A 28-year-old woman, Ifeoma Daniel, has been arrested by the police in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for allegedly turning six girls to sex slaves.
PUNCH
Metro learnt that Daniel, who hails from
Ahiazu Mbaise, Imo State, and a suspected accomplice, Collins Madueke, 28, were
arrested in the Apo area by the Special Intelligence Response Team of the
Inspector-General of Police.
Our
correspondent gathered that the six victims, whose ages ranged from 19 to 22,
were found locked up in a room before the police rescued and handed them over
to officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in
Persons and other related matters.
Our
correspondent learnt that the girls were rescued on Friday, June 17, 2016.
The
victims – Chidinma Amakwe, Blessing John, Nancy Azubuike, Chiamaka Eze,
Amarachi Chinedu and Beauty Ndulue – reportedly told the police that they were
lured by the suspects to Abuja to become commercial sex workers.
They
said they were promised N200,000 after six months.
Speaking
with PUNCH Metro, Daniel, a mother of two, said she brought two of the
girls from their villages.
She
said, “I have two children, Akunnaya and Charity. I divorced my husband three
years ago because he always beat me. I went into commercial sex work as a means
of survival. I started the work in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. I was told
commercial sex was more lucrative in Abuja, so I relocated here in 2015.
“I
operated in the Apo area. I thought I could make more money by recruiting some
girls to work for me. I brought the girls and the agreement was that I would
pay them N100, 000 after six months. I also promised to take care of their
feeding.
“I
brought only two of the girls – Chinedu and John. The other girls were brought
by two women known as Mama Cynthia and Azonto.”
Madueke,
who hails from Nsukka, Enugu State, denied working with Daniel to recruit the
victims for commercial sex work.
He
said, “I worked as a hairdresser. In the first week of June, I was in my shop
when Chinedu (one of the girls) approached me saying she wanted to learn
hairdressing. The following day, she came back with four other girls and they
all said they wanted to learn as well. I know them as apprentices.”
One
of the victims, Azubuike, 20, said she slept with no fewer than 15 men in a
day, adding that Daniel made N20,000 from her daily.
She
said, “I hail from Mbaise, Imo State. I dropped out of secondary school. My
parents were aware that I wanted to go to Abuja to learn a vocation. My friend
told me it would be commercial sex work. What I did not understand was that we
would be locked up in a room.
“I
slept with no fewer than 15 men in a day because they loved my services and
always asked for more. I normally made between N15,000 and N20,000 every day,
but the money went to madam (Daniel).
I was asked to stay with her because
there was no accommodation. The police stormed the place where we were locked
up and rescued us.”
Another
victim, John, 19, who hails from Aba, Abia State, said, “It was one Aunty Joy
who brought me to Abuja and handed me over to Madam Azonto. Madam Azonto
promised to give me N200,000 after six months if I agreed to be a commercial
sex worker.
“She
kept me in a room with the other girls and brought our food to the same room.
Every evening, we were taken out to different joints where we slept with
several men. I normally collected N1,000 per round from customers.”
Our
correspondent learnt that a man, who stayed in the neighbourhood where the
girls were locked up, gave the police a tip-off.
A
police source said, “The girls were kept in the room and someone usually
brought food for them through the window. When we got there, we forced the door
open and we discovered that there were six girls.”
Our
correspondent gathered that the police were making efforts to arrest the
fleeing members of the syndicate.
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