Benue teenager recounts escape from Mali sex trafficker

An 18-year-old girl from Benue State at the weekend recounted how she escaped from an alleged sex trafficking network in Mali after enduring months of exploitation, abuse and forced prostitution.

The teenager, whose identity is being withheld, exposed what she described as a sophisticated operation that recruits vulnerable young women with promises of lucrative jobs abroad.

She narrated her ordeal to journalists shortly after arriving in Makurdi following her rescue and safe return to Nigeria.

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She alleged that traffickers lured her and three other young women in March 2026 with promises of employment opportunities and financial independence outside the country.

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The teenager explained that the journey began in Benue State and passed through Otukpo, Enugu and Lagos before the girls were moved across several West African countries through illegal routes into Mali.

She said the traffickers instructed them to disguise themselves as sachet water vendors in Lagos and later confined them indoors while arrangements were made for their movement out of Nigeria.

She further alleged that the syndicate used bush paths to evade immigration checks and provided them with falsified identity documents bearing altered ages and state origins.

The teenager claimed that after arriving in Mali, the girls were separated and handed over to different handlers, who immediately confiscated their phones and travel documents.

She said the promised jobs never existed, adding that she was instead forced into commercial sex work and compelled to surrender all proceeds to her handler.

According to her, the girls worked under harsh conditions, surviving on a single meal daily while facing intimidation, physical assault and threats.

The victim alleged that some girls were subjected to traditional oath-taking rituals and warned against escaping until they had repaid huge debts imposed by their handlers.

She disclosed that she was made to sleep with numerous clients up to a minimum of 20 daily and was frequently beaten whenever she questioned instructions or failed to meet expectations.

The teenager said months of exploitation eventually affected her health, but the cost of medical treatment was added to her debt despite being deducted from money she had already earned, noting that hope of freedom emerged when she secretly contacted an acquaintance in Nigeria, who linked her to individuals working to assist stranded victims of trafficking.

She eventually escaped after her handler allegedly became intoxicated and unknowingly left money in her possession, enabling her to flee from the settlement where she was being held.

The victim alleged that many Nigerian girls remain trapped in the area, including some who have become pregnant and lack the means to return home.

She warned other young women against offers of easy wealth and overseas jobs, describing such promises as deceptive and dangerous.

“I gave close to a million CFA francs and I still was not free, so I ran,” she said.

The survivor was received in Makurdi by the General Manager of Benue Links Nigeria Limited, Comrade Alexander Fanafa, who facilitated her transportation from Lagos to Benue free of charge.

Fanafa called for intensified efforts to dismantle trafficking networks operating across Benue and neighbouring countries, stressing the need to protect vulnerable young people from exploitation.

He urged security agencies and relevant authorities to trace and disrupt the routes allegedly used by traffickers, warning that human trafficking continues to threaten the future of many young Nigerians.

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