Four Nigerian Girls Rescued from Trafficking Ring in Côte d’Ivoire Return Home

Four Nigerian Girls Rescued from Trafficking Ring in Côte d’Ivoire Return Home

By Naomi Onome

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire — Four Nigerian girls, including three named Favour and one named Esther, have been rescued from a suspected sex trafficking ring in Côte d’Ivoire and safely repatriated to Nigeria following a coordinated intervention by the Nigerian community in the Bagoué Region.

The rescue operation was led by Mr. Oluwaseun Odusanya, Global Anti-Human Trafficking Organization (GAHTO) Representative in Côte d’Ivoire and Chairman of the Nigerian Community in Bagoué Region. The victims, aged between 16 and 23, were trafficked from Delta and Imo States under false promises of legitimate employment.

According to the survivors, they endured threats, deception, and forced involvement in sex work. Two of the women spent over a year in Côte d’Ivoire, one stayed three months, and another was returned within a month of arrival.

The youngest victim, identified as “Small Favour,” 16, recounted leaving Nigeria at age 15 after being promised a sales job. She revealed that financial difficulties in her family compelled her to drop out of school to seek income. Upon arrival, she was forced into sex work and told she owed her trafficker two million CFA francs, a debt she had to repay before gaining freedom before reporting her case to the Nigerian Embassy.

Esther, 22, from Imo State, was recruited in Lagos and coerced into sex work at a hotel, where she had to remit daily payments to her trafficker. “They told me that I should do “ashawo work,” she said, referring to sex work.

The oldest victim, “Senior Favour,” 23, from Delta State, described severe abuse, including beatings and threats to remove her womb if she refused to comply. She contacted a Nigerian man after three months who facilitated her return to Nigeria. She is an orphan with a child who’s currently living with her mother-in-law.

Another woman named Favour, 21, also from Delta State, left a restaurant job in Nigeria after a former colleague convinced her of better pay abroad. She traveled with her sister but was intercepted by police in Côte d’Ivoire and sent back after one month, as the trafficker deemed her unsuitable for sex work.

All four women cited economic hardship and unemployment as reasons for their attempts to travel abroad. They warn others against falling victim to similar trafficking schemes.

The rescued women have requested support to rebuild their lives, expressing interest in legitimate work and vocational training. Authorities urge parents and young Nigerians to verify overseas job offers and report suspicious recruitment activities to law enforcement agencies.

Prosper Kayode Ayobami Michael, Founder of Global Anti Human Trafficking Organization – GAHTO emphasized the importance of vigilance against trafficking networks operating between Nigeria and West African countries. GAHTO has recently intensified efforts against human trafficking, he said.

Prosper says GAHTO —established in 2019 and backed by over 20 years of humanitarian experience—focuses on rescuing, rehabilitating, and empowering victims of human trafficking. He noted that GAHTO currently operates without government funding or NGO partnerships, relying on limited resources to carry out rescue missions while urging future collaborations to strengthen its work.

He emphasized that poverty remains a major driver of trafficking and called for stronger poverty reduction efforts, improved parent-child communication, and increased vigilance at home to prevent children from falling victim to traffickers.

He also warned traffickers that their activities will not go unpunished, describing trafficking as a crime against humanity after recounting the ordeal of rescued victims who were reportedly held in captivity in West African countries under harsh conditions.

Michael said GAHTO remains committed to expanding its rescue operations across Nigeria and West Africa and aims to become a leading anti-trafficking NGO in the country. He further expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Ambassadors and embassy staffs of countries in West Africa for their swift intervention in the repatriation of rescued victims, noting the embassy’s commitment to collaboration in ongoing anti-trafficking efforts.