FOUR girls from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, including a 14-year-old minor, have been rescued from suspected human traffickers in Morila, Mali, following a joint intervention by the Global Anti-Human Trafficking Organisation (GAHTO) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
According to a statement issued on Monday by GAHTO founder, Prosper Michael, the girls were allegedly lured to Mali with promises of employment in gold mines and shops but were forced into prostitution.
Michael said the rescue followed a distress message sent by one of the girls through WhatsApp after she used artificial intelligence to seek help.
He explained that the message was received by NAPTIP Uyo Command, which contacted him to facilitate an intervention.
Michael said he established contact with one of the girls and worked with a Nigerian community leader in Mali to secure their rescue and return.
NAPTIP Uyo Command said the distress message sent by one of the victims read: “I am a Nigerian girl, trapped in Mali. My madam seized my passport and asked me to go and be doing hook-up. Please, our lives are in danger.”
The command said that the girl explained that an artificial intelligence tool had provided his contact after she searched for ways to obtain help.
It expressed concern that a 14-year-old girl was among those trafficked, describing her situation as a case of child abuse and questioning how the minor’s father could have approved her journey to Mali under such circumstances.
One of the survivors, identified as Sekinat, a 23-year-old auxiliary nurse, said she was introduced to the supposed job opportunity by her mother’s friend, who promised her legitimate employment.
She said she began the journey on October 14 and arrived in Mali on October 19, only to discover that the promised job was prostitution.
“When I got there, she collected my phone and ID cards. She later told me that the work they do here is prostitution. I thought it was a joke,” she was quoted as saying.
Sekinat alleged that the trafficker threatened to sell or kill any of the girls who refused to engage in prostitution.
She further claimed that the woman collected CFA2.5 million to facilitate their journey to Mali but instructed them to tell embassy officials that she had spent CFA1.5 million to bring them into the country.
According to her, the girls eventually gained access to a hidden phone and used artificial intelligence on WhatsApp to seek assistance after an earlier attempt to contact a Nigerian Army officer failed.
“We sent him our pictures, our madam’s number and her name and the name of the area. We were four in number,” she said.
The rescue team called on Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the Kogi State Government to provide the survivors with medical attention, psychosocial support, counselling and educational assistance.
They also urged relevant authorities to investigate the alleged trafficking network and ensure that those responsible are apprehended and prosecuted.
They added that the four girls are currently receiving care and undergoing rehabilitation.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.