A mother in Effurun, Delta State, is pleading with the government and relevant agencies to rescue her 18-year-old daughter, who was trafficked to Ghana under the guise of securing a better job.
The victim, whose identity is being withheld, was reportedly lured by a neighbour and has since been forced into prostitution.
The Nation gathered that the incident occurred on March 23, 2025, raising fears of an active human trafficking ring targeting young girls in the area.
Family members, particularly the victim’s 51-year-old mother, Victoria, are devastated by the development.
The girl, before her disappearance, worked shifts at a restaurant along Airport Road in Effurun.
According to relatives, alarm bells rang when calls to the teenager’s phone went unanswered and the line was eventually switched off. After two days with no word, Victoria visited her daughter’s workplace and was told she hadn’t reported for duty in three days. Her search later led to the discovery that her daughter and a 19-year-old friend had both gone missing.
It was eventually uncovered that both girls had been trafficked together.
In an emotional interview with The Nation, Victoria said her daughter contacted her four days after leaving home, crying and begging to be rescued. However, the family is financially incapable of facilitating her return.
Victoria said her husband works as a driver, while she has been unable to earn an income due to the emotional toll of the situation.
She is now calling on the Nigerian government, non-governmental organisations, and security agencies to help bring her daughter back home and ensure justice is served.
“I need people to help me bring her back because she is not even sound as she is there. When she called the last time, she said ‘mummy, I am not fine. I am not fine;’ that she is tired, but she cannot leave there on her own.”
Responding to questions, the mother said: “Yes, she is still being used for prostitution, that was the purpose they were taken there.
When she called initially, we asked her where she was and she told us she was in Ghana.
“We asked how it happened and she said it was through an agent that promised to give them (the victim and her friend) a job. But when they got there, they realised the kind of job and she cannot come back on her own. She said she could not return on her own because they are under watch at the place. And that the woman in charge is very influential
“It’s because of lack of money that we have not being able to find another way to bring her back,” she added.
Asked if the suspect had been identified, the mother said: “We know the neighbour, but he ran away like two months ago. His name is Prince Ogaga. He is from Uvwie. We lived in their compound, that’s where it happened.
“We reported to the Police. It was the police that came to look for him when he escaped. Police did not do anything again. We were asked to bring his photograph so that he will be declared wanted. But we could not get it. He should be 40 years and above…
We know him as a house agent in the area, so whether he has been doing this, I don’t know,” she stated.
Asked if her daughter showed signs of apprehension prior to her leaving, the 51 year old lady stated: “I didn’t notice anything different before she left. Where she was working, she worked shifts, one day on, one day off. The day she was off, I was not at home”.
Further asked on efforts to get back the victim, who is her first child and only daughter, Victoria said a church member who is a Ghanaian planned on travelling home to Ghana, and had promised to connect with her.
Meanwhile, sources at the victim’s former workplace described her as lively and cool-headed during her time there, when The Nation visited, Tuesday.
However, they disclosed that they thought she had gone for an appendicitis surgery when she didn’t turn up for days.
“Before she stopped coming, she was complaining about appendix. She said it wasn’t due for surgery. On several occasions she had to leave work because of the pain, so when we didn’t see her, we thought she had gone for the operation. She used to work at the snacks section. She didn’t even drop her uniform. But we later heard that she had travelled to Dubai. She must have been influenced by friends,” one of her ex-colleagues asserted.
When contacted on the issue, the Pollice Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, said the parents should petition the Inspector General of Police, as the case was beyond the Command.
