Twenty-five underaged girls working as sex workers have been rescued from a hotel in Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area.
The girls in a video posted online by an indigene of the area confessed that they were trafficked into Anambra from Ebonyi State to serve as prostitutes.
In the video, some of the girls also confessed to having been brought into the state by persons they referred to as their madams, from Akwa Ibom, Abia and Niger States.
One of the survivor who identified herself as Divine, a 14 years old girl said she was brought in by a woman who met her and her cousin in Abakiliki and offered to get them a job in Anambra State.
“She told us if we would like to travel to Anambra and work. I agreed and said maybe when I come here, I can be sending money to my family. She took me and my cousin and her friend here.
“When we came here, she told us the work, but we said we cannot do it that we will go back, but there said we will have to work for the transport they used to bring us here.
“Since then, we have been trying to escape, but they have not allowed us. We once escaped and they caught us. Even when we are in our period, they used to give us cotton wool to clean our private part, so that blood won’t stain the men or stain the bedsheet,” the girl narrated.
Divine’s mother who traced her to Aguleri before reporting to authorities in the community said she has been missing since October 2025. Divine’s cousin and friend who were abducted alongside her, gave their ages as 15 and 19 years old in the video.
Meanwhile, Anambra State government has condemned the act and also ordered an investigation into it, stating that it abhors and condemns such act, and will not tolerate any form of child trafficking, sexual exploitation, or abuse of minors under any circumstance.
A release by the state commissioner of information, Dr Law Mefor said the alleged acts constitute a serious violation of human dignity, moral decency, and the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly the Child Rights Act (which has been implemented in the state) and the Criminal Code, among other relevant laws.
He said: “Government has already directed relevant security agencies and regulatory authorities to immediately investigate the allegations, establish the facts, rescue and protect any affected minor(s), and ensure that all individuals or syndicates involved are identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law and the facilities sealed for public safety.
“Operators of such modern-day travesty within Anambra State should rest assured that the long arm of the law is actively searching for them, and they will face the full wrath of the law.”
David-Chyddy Eleke
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