…Girl, 15, Rescued From Being Taken To Ghana For ‘Hustle’
A 15-year-old girl, identified simply as Nice, has been rescued just as she was about to be trafficked to Ghana for prostitution, even as callers claiming to be from both Police Force Headquarters in Abuja and Rivers Police Command harassed rescuers, demanding that the minor be released to a suspected trafficker, identified as Nnenna.
She was rescued on the 24th of June 2025 by a child protection activist, who noticed the suspicious behaviour of the man, who was planning to take her to Ghana and started asking questions.
The man, later known as Mr Oseni, claimed to be Nice’s elder brother.
Further probing revealed that he was not the girl’s brother.
According to Nice, she did not know Oseni, but was told by the person whom Nnenna handed her over in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, that Oseni would meet her at the mother park and facilitate her movement to Ghana.
Oseni, after answering a call, his Port Harcourt contact tried to run but was apprehended.
Reverend sister Justina Nelson of Religious Sisters Of Charity, who has been following up the case, said: “I wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to Festac police for their swift response.
Nice was told that she was going to Ghana to hustle and according to her, she doesn’t know what hustle meant. She was told not to tell anyone or take any clothes.
“All she carried was a nylon bag with contraceptive pills in it. The suspect and the girl were transferred to the Gender Unit. On our way to the Gender Unit with two police officers, Oseni tried to escape, but thanks to the smartness of the police officers and street urchins at the bus stop due to a traffic jam, he was tied up.
“I have received calls from an officer who claimed he is from Force Headquarters two days ago, sent by Nnenna. I also received another call from an officer who claimed he was from the Rivers State Police Command, demanding the whereabouts of the girl.
“Nnenna is claiming that Nice Ananchi is her daughter and that she was sending her to Ghana to give drugs to her daughter, who just gave birth, and that is the officer who claimed that he was calling from Lagos command, told me this afternoon.
“Many young girls are being brought from the East, South, West and North en route to Ghana, but the traffickers have never been arrested and brought to book.
“We want all these syndicates to be apprehended and Annanchi to be protected. I want to suggest that the case could be transferred to NAPTIP, and the girl shouldn’t be sent home for now because of the way Nnenna Gift is going about the issue, and she should be arrested.”
Trafficking, especially for sexual exploitation, is a devastating reality for many African teenage girls. Exact numbers are difficult to pin down due to underreporting and the hidden nature of the crime.
Women and girls make up 79% of those trafficked for sexual exploitation globally. In Africa, teenage girls are disproportionately affected, particularly in regions like West and East Africa, where trafficking routes to Europe are active.
According to the UNODC, 60% of detected girl victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation. In Nigeria, which is a major source country, the majority of trafficked persons are women and girls, many of them teenagers.
The smuggling route from West Africa to Europe generates an estimated $150 million annually, much of it from sexual exploitation.
Poverty, lack of education, and family neglect are major drivers of trafficking among adolescent girls. Many victims are recruited by family members or acquaintances, often under false promises of work or education.
During transit and at destination, girls face sexual violence, coercion, and withheld wages, with some reporting severe mental health impacts.
In 2021, Africa recorded 1,686 prosecutions and 659 convictions related to trafficking, but this is a fraction of the actual scale. Only 11,450 victims were identified across the continent in that year, down from over 28,000 in 2020.
