A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Association for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria (AONN), has appealed to the police to investigate the alleged camping of underage girls for trafficking and prostitution in Lokoja, capital of Kogi State.
The AONN Coordinator of Kogi, Nathaniel Abaniwo, made the appeal in a press statement on Saturday in Lokoja.
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Abaniwo, who was reacting to the outcome of an investigation by Wadata Media and Advocacy, Abuja, urged the law enforcement agencies to ensure that the perpetrators faced the full wrath of the law.
He said AONN’s attention was drawn to a recent investigation conducted by Wadata Media and Advocacy Centre which revealed how some girls were allegedly being trafficked for prostitution.
He alleged that the girls who were drawn from Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto and Bauchi states were being trafficked to neighbouring countries like Chad and Niger Republic after camping them in Kasuwan-Ruwa, a suburb of Lokoja.
He said investigation further revealed that during the day, traders converged on Kasuwan-Ruwa to sell yam, but that at night the perpetrators brought out the girls for prostitution.
Abaniwo said the man allegedly behind the prostitution and trafficking of the girls, simply identified as Small Lusher (not real name) took the lion share of proceeds from the prostitution activities.
He said the illegal trade was exposing the girls to insecurity, psychological trauma, diseases, unwanted pregnancies, among other evils, and therefore commended the wisdom and painstaking effort of Wadata Media for making its findings public. (NAN)
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