The girls were between the ages of 12 and 13.
A woman has been arrested in Anambra State for allegedly trafficking some underage girls for prostitution in the state.
The woman, Ekpereamaka Okonkwo, was arrested on Tuesday in Awka, the state capital.
Mrs Okonkwo, popularly known as Ukwu Venza, hails from Otolo Nnewi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.
The Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra State, Ify Obinabo, told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday evening that the suspect owned a shanty brothel in the community where she kept some underage girls for prostitution.
The girls were between the ages of 12 and 13.
Mrs Obinabo said she usually trafficked the girls from various communities to her brothel.
"She was using these little girls to do the prostitution. They (the girls) would pay her (after sleeping with a man), then she would now, in return, pay the girls every month," she said.
Bribery attempt
Mrs Obinabo said she had attempted to track the suspect down after a video exposing her illicit act went viral, but she went into hiding, apparently to avoid being arrested and prosecuted.
The commissioner said the suspect later phoned her, requesting for an opportunity to meet her in order to "water the ground."
She said the suspect subsequently scheduled a meeting on Sunday in Asaba, the Delta State capital, and offered her a bribe of N300, 000 through the husband with a promise to make a total payment of N2 million to get the commissioner to discontinue the case.
"Her husband said the woman (the suspect) would come and see me. And that she didn't want to see me that Sunday because she was feeling that I am still very angry with her," the commissioner told PREMIUM TIMES.
Mrs Obinabo, however, contacted police operatives in Anambra State who laid ambush for the suspect in Awka, where the commissioner had insisted to see the suspect for further discussion based on the bribe offered.
The suspect and her husband were consequently arrested when they showed up at the location apparently to "strike a deal" with the commissioner.
Mrs Obinabo said she was told that the suspect was earlier running the trafficking business in Nnewi where she was popularly known as "Madam Padded", before relocating to Oba to continue the illegal business.
Oba is a community in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.
The commissioner recalled that, in 2019, a shanty brothel in Nnewi owned by the suspect was gutted by fire which killed three commercial sex workers who were working for her.
She alleged that the suspect was responsible for the deaths of the victims because the suspect had locked the victims in a room in the brothel to prevent them from having sex with other men who did not pay her directly.
Mrs Obinabo said the state government was determined to prosecute child offenders in the state.
The commissioner added that her ministry would not relent in facilitating the arrest of those involved in "sexual slavery" in the state.
"She will be prosecuted in court after investigations," she said.
When contacted on Tuesday evening, the police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES.
"The suspect is in custody now," Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said.
Prohibited in Nigeria
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Nigeria in 2015 enacted the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act which outlawed all acts of human trafficking in the country.
The Act prescribes a minimum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of N1 million for trafficking relating to sex and labour exploitation.
Several persons have been convicted for similar offences across the country.
The Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Magistrate Court in Awka, Anambra State, in February, convicted a 35-year-old woman who trafficked and forced four teenage girls into prostitution.
A Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, in 2018, sentenced 49-year-old Ehie Ehirobo to three years imprisonment for human trafficking. Mrs Ehirobo was convicted for procuring persons for prostitution, among other crimes.
