Two of the rescued women are underage girls, according to a government official.
The Anambra State Government has rescued 20 women, including two underage girls, who were tricked into prostitution in the state.
Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Ms Ikeanyionwu said the victims, aged between 15 and 25 years old, were rescued from a hotel also used as a brothel in Oba, a community in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.
The media aide said the rescue took place when police operatives in the state in collaboration with officials of the ministry raided the brothel in response to a tip-off by a resident of the community.
"Two amongst the rescued girls are underage and the commissioner has already taken them to hospital for medical examination and possible treatment," Ms Ikeanyionwu said.
"Before embarking on the raid, investigation was carried out by the ministry and it was discovered that the management of the hotel by name, Top Ten Hotels, Oba, trafficked girls from all parts of the country for prostitution purposes," she added.
'How we were tricked into prostitution'
Some of the rescued girls, according to the statement, said they were separately taken to the hotel either by a friend or relative on the pretext of securing a hotel job for them, but would later realise they were trafficked for prostitution.
The victims said the persons who took them to the brothel seized their phones and other belongings before handing them over to another woman who informed them they would only be released if they brought a certain amount of money to her or worked as prostitutes for her for a period of one year.
'N4, 000 to N10, 000 daily'
The rescued girls also said they usually made between N4,000 and N10,000 from prostitution during weekdays and between N15, 000 and N30,000 during weekends, but their "direct bosses" often took away the money from them.
Also, the owner of the hotel, identified as Amaechi Etiokwu, usually came to collect his own pay too, they said.
The victims said they usually had sexual intercourse with about 10 men daily in order to meet up with their financial obligations to their bosses or risk being beaten by them, adding that they only got N500 once in a day for feeding and that security men at the facility often helped to buy food for them.
They said they also paid a daily rent fee of N3,500 from the proceeds of the prostitution.
Commissioner speaks
Speaking shortly after the raid, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra State, Mrs Obinabo, commended the police in the state for helping to rescue the girls, Ms Ikeanyionwu said.
The commissioner lamented that some people were still engaging in trafficking despite the state government's efforts to stop the act, but assured that the suspects involved in the alleged trafficking would be prosecuted.
She restated the government's commitment to end all forms of child kidnapping, trafficking and sex slavery in the state, and urged residents of the state to report any suspicious activity within their neighbourhood for immediate action.
The suspects had been arrested by the police and would be arraigned before the Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Magistrate Court in Awka, according to the statement.
The statement, however, did not identify the arrested suspects.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Prohibited in Nigeria
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 trafficking across the country.
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 others.
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in 2019, sentenced three persons to seven- and five-years' imprisonment for human trafficking.
