 |
| Picture credit: Vanguard Newspaper |
A 16-year-old girl told police on Monday, June 16, 2026, that a woman she trusted brought her from Imo State to Lagos with a promise of an office job, but forced her into sex work for four months, according to Vanguard Newspaper report.
The girl, Chidinma, said she was learning baking in Imo before the woman took her to a tall building in Balogun market on Lagos Island. When she arrived, the woman removed her clothes and left her in only underwear. Other young girls were inside the same room. The woman then pushed men into the room and gave Chidinma a blue pill that made her confused and weak.
She said she slept with no fewer than 30 men every day, and sometimes as many as 60. Each man paid between N5,000 and N10,000, but the woman gave her just N1,000 or N1,500 to buy food. Whenever she asked men to use protection and they refused, they reported her. The woman would then drag her into another room, beat her with an iron rod until she bled, and punch her stomach even though she had surgery before. One of the punches landed on her left eye and she could not see with it for one week.
Chidinma said she finally escaped after the woman threatened her with a knife for refusing to take more men because of pain. She ran to Costain, boarded a bus, and met a man who took her to Surulere. A woman selling popcorn there led her to Bode Thomas Police Station. The officer in charge sent her to the hospital and was surprised she was only 15, because she looked like 21. Chidinma added that other girls were still trapped in that building and their phones were taken so they could not call their families. She said she is tired of the life and wants to go back to her catering work, which she is almost done with.
The woman accused of trafficking her, 28-year-old Princess Andrew from Delta State, denied the claims. She said she does not run a brothel and only helped Chidinma get accommodation after the girl arrived from Delta. Andrew also said Chidinma knew what job she was coming for and lied about her age, claiming the girl would turn 21 this year.
The Lagos Commissioner of Police visited the Balogun building with journalists after a passerby found Chidinma badly injured near Surulere and took her to Bode Thomas Division. He said the group targets girls between 13 and 15 years old. Police believe the gang has trafficked about 30 girls in total, but so far they have arrested two suspects and rescued 13 underage girls. Chidinma is now getting medical treatment while investigations continue.