Trafficked With False Job Promises: Five Young Nigerian Women Recount Ordeal in Côte d’Ivoire Sex Trade

Trafficked With False Job Promises: Five Young Nigerian Women Recount Ordeal in Côte d’Ivoire Sex Trade

By Naomi Onome

Five young Nigerian women rescued from a human trafficking network have recounted how they were deceived with promises of legitimate jobs before being forced into commercial sex work in Côte d’Ivoire, where they endured months of exploitation, threats and abuse.

The victims, who spoke after their rescue and repatriation to Nigeria, narrated that traffickers targeted them with fake employment offers in baking, hairdressing, clothing sales and other menial jobs, only to force them into prostitution upon arrival in the West African country.

One of the victims, Monica Emmanuel, 17, from the Idoma ethnic group in Benue State, said she was introduced to a woman identified as Peace, who promised her a baking job in Abuja. Instead, she and two other girls were transported from Kaduna to Lagos before another woman identified as Blessing informed them that the job was actually in Côte d’Ivoire.

Monica said they were moved through several villages and remote bush paths before arriving at their destination, where they realised they had been trafficked.
“They locked us in a room and warned us not to tell our parents or the police the truth. They made us tell everyone that we were fine whenever they called,” she said.

She disclosed that after another member of their group reported the traffickers to the police in Lagos, their captors became more hostile, confiscated their phones and threatened to sell them to other traffickers if they failed to comply.

According to Monica, the victims were forced into prostitution, sometimes attending to between 10 and 11 men daily, while all proceeds were seized by their handlers.
“We had to buy condoms with our own money. Every expense, including food, slippers and clothing, was deducted from what we earned. We never kept any money,” she said.

Another victim, Juliet Timothy, 18, from Kaduna State, said she had trained as a hairdresser before accepting what she believed was a genuine job offer in Abuja.
“My parents thought I was travelling for work in Abuja. We only discovered the truth after getting to Lagos,” she said.
Juliet narrated that after arriving in Côte d’Ivoire, the traffickers instructed them to pretend everything was normal whenever their families called.
“When I spoke with my mother, I started crying. They seized the phone from me immediately and forced me to record a smiling video so they could convince my family I was safe,” she recalled.

She added that the traffickers demanded millions of naira before they could regain their freedom and repeatedly threatened to sell them if they refused to continue in prostitution.

Determined to escape, Monica and Juliet secretly contacted sympathetic Nigerians and officials who directed them to a human rights office in Côte d’Ivoire.
The two victims were eventually rescued following a coordinated intervention initiated after the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Lagos Zonal Command, contacted Prosper K. Michael, Founder of the Global Anti Human Trafficking Organization (GAHTO), for assistance.

The rescue operation was carried out in Djiboroso, Côte d’Ivoire, by GAHTO’s representative in the country, Oluwaseun Odusanya, with the support of Baro Séri, of the Sous-Préfecture de Djiboroso, Commune de Kani, Worodougou Region.

The officials ensured the victims’ safety before they were received by Kouadio N’Guessan, Educateur Specialisé and Director of the Centre Social de Tengrela in the Bagoué Region of Côte d’Ivoire.
Odusanya, who also serves as Chairman of the Nigerian Community in the Bagoué Region, subsequently facilitated their safe return to Nigeria.

Three other victims—Rejoice Emmanuel, 25, Joy Teseh, 24, and Monica Tamah, 38, all Tiv women from Benue State—also narrated similar experiences.

They said they were lured with promises of jobs, including selling clothes, but were instead forced into prostitution for periods ranging from three to six months.

The three women were rescued in Boundiali, also in the Bagoué Region of Côte d’Ivoire, through another coordinated operation involving GAHTO and local authorities before being processed for their return to Nigeria.

One of the women disclosed that she attended to as many as 10 clients on busy market days, while another said she generated millions of CFA francs for her traffickers without being allowed to keep the proceeds.
“I got tired. I begged the police for help because I couldn’t continue,” one of the victims said.

Another victim, a 38-year-old mother of five, appealed to the Nigerian government for support to rebuild her life through legitimate business after returning home.

The survivors called on authorities to intensify efforts against human trafficking syndicates operating across Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries, warning young people to be wary of enticing job offers that promise quick employment outside their home states or abroad.

The successful rescue and repatriation of the five victims marks another significant breakthrough in GAHTO’s ongoing fight against human trafficking, demonstrating the impact of collaboration between NAPTIP, international partners, local authorities in Côte d’Ivoire and anti-trafficking advocates in dismantling transnational trafficking networks.

Their testimonies highlight the continuing activities of trafficking syndicates that exploit vulnerable Nigerians through deception, coercion and sexual exploitation despite sustained efforts by law enforcement agencies and civil society organisations to combat the crime.