One of the underage
girls rescued from a brothel at the Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos State has
revealed that she usually reads Psalm 23 for protection before hitting the road
at night for prostitution.
The girl, Josephine
(surname withheld), from Imo State, said that she was born in Calabar and came
to Lagos last year alone.
She said: “I came to
Lagos in February 2017. I was employed as a housemaid by a woman at Ikeja.
I resigned because she was not paying me regularly. I left and went into
prostitution at the brothel.
“My style of
operation in the brothel is different. What I normally do is to go with any guy
that needs my services. I follow them to their homes and spend the night. They
pay me between N5,000 ando N7,000 per night, after which I return to the
brothel in the morning to rest.”
When asked if she
was not afraid some strange men could use her for diabolical purposes, she
said: “I’m always afraid because I have heard of how so many prostitutes were
used for money rituals. I usually read Psalm 23 for protection before going for
my work. And all what I am doing is for the upkeep of my baby.
“Nobody is there to
take care of him. My boyfriend rejected the pregnancy and since then, I have
been taking care of my baby alone. I want to leave the job, but only if I can
get another one, which will fetch me enough money to care for my baby.”
The state
Commissioner of Police, Mr Edgal Imohimi, said that on March 10, he received
intelligence gathering, which revealed that some persons were running a
prostitution ring in a hotel known as Collabor Hotel, located at Iyana-Ipaja,
with underage girls.
Imohimi said: “It
was based on this intelligence gathered that a team of policemen from the command
and Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) operatives stormed the location
and rescued a 15-year-old girl, Glory. She confessed that she was brought to
the hotel some weeks ago and handed over to Monica Ita (25). This led to the
rescue of other underage girls, namely Destiny (19) and Bright (18).
“Meanwhile, the
coordinator of the prostitution ring, Thomas Emmanuel 29 and Okon John, 34,
were also arrested. They would soon be charged to court.”
According to Glory,
it was her sister that picked her from Akwa Ibom State and brought her to Lagos
State to hawk garden eggs. When she got to her sister’s supposed home, it
turned out to be a brothel and the business prostitution.
She said: “I was
forced to go into prostitution. I started as a sweeper in the hotel called
Collabor at Iyana-Ipaja area. I have not even started sleeping with any man
before policemen came to the hotel and arrested everyone. I came to Lagos to
work and make money to further my education because my parents don’t have money
to sponsor me and my siblings.”
Narrating her own
story, Bright said: “I heard about prostitution in Lagos from my mates who came to
the village in Akwa Ibom State, in December. I decided to go to Lagos to work
as a prostitute. I borrowed money from a friend to come to Lagos. I came
without knowing anyone here. I came to Lagos in January. It was a lady, who is
from Akwa Ibom State whom I met while roaming the streets of Lagos, looking for
where to sleep, that assisted me. She took me to the brothel. I paid N3,000 per
week to the management of the hotel. Soon after I entered the hotel, I started
working. Five men could have sex with me in a day. Each pays me N1,000 for the
service. I didn’t have any madam in the hotel.”
Bright disclosed that she
was deflowered when she was just 15-year-old in her village. “I don’t have
anybody to assist me that was why I decided to come to Lagos to work as a
prostitute,” she said.
The Director of the
hotel, Mr. Oko John, said: “We don’t recruit girls. They usually come to the
hotel on their own to ‘hustle.’ Presently, we have 10 girls in the hotel. We
only accommodate them and they pay us.”
The Manager of the
brothel, Mr. Etim Emmanuel, said: “One of the girls the policemen claimed were
underage came to the hotel to see her sister, Monica Ita, who works as a
prostitute in the hotel. We don’t accommodate underage girls in the hotel.
In fact, even those who came to the hotel to hustle were not forced to do so.
They always come to the hotel willingly to work. All we do is to provide them
accommodation and collect N3,000 from them every week.”
One of the underage
girls, Destiny explained: “I was arrested at our hotel in Iyana-Ipaja for engaging in
prostitution. I came to Lagos on my own when I couldn’t secure a job at
Akwa Ibom State. I was advised by my friends who were in the business to come
to Lagos that I would make money.”
The teenager
admitted that per day, she could have sex with three to four men, with each
paying her just N1,000. She also pays N3,000 for hotel accommodation every
week.
She said: “I was
arrested by the police because I’m an underage prostitute. When the policemen
were taking us to their station, I told them I was not underage. I told them I
was hustling willingly because I couldn’t secure a job. I knew that what
I was doing was a shameful business, but I didn’t have any other option. I
don’t have anyone. No! I don’t believe those that had sex with me could use me
for money ritual.”
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