Ghanian journalist, Meshack Okai of PN Media – Ghana – writes Arewa PUNCH on the fast growing and embarrassing sex trafficking scandal currently rocking Ghana, and involving many unsuspecting and impressionable young Nigerian girl who are lured with job promises but end up in brothels.

A growing crisis of sex trafficking involving young Nigerian girls in Ghana’s mining town of Obuase has come to light, with victims lured under the pretense of legitimate employment only to find themselves trapped in the sex trade.

The heartbreaking testimony of a young Nigerian girl who managed to escape her traffickers reveals the dark underbelly of a thriving illicit industry in the bustling town.

The girl, whose name is being withheld for her safety, told a Ghana based media, PN Media in a documentary titled “From Hope to Horror, the Obuasi Nightmare” which exposes a disturbing reality of how young Nigerian women are being lured to Ghana under false pretenses for sex trade.

The victim had trusted her boyfriend when he asked her to move to Ghana, believing she would be managing his business.

“He said he had opened a business that I should manage for him,” she recalled. But upon arrival, the reality was starkly different.

“I found out that they had already paid him to bring me here,” she said and was handed over to a strange girl with no clear explanation.

Soon, her hopes unravelled. When she questioned her boyfriend about their living arrangements, he dodged the topic. Eventually, he revealed his Intentions: “The way you are in Nigeria and your fellow girls are here making money,” he hinted.

The shocking truth was that she was expected to sell her body, a betrayal that left her devastated. Trapped in Obuase, she was told she owed a large debt.

“Arriving in Obuase, they told me I owed a huge amount of money, and I had to sleep with men to pay off the debt,” she explained.

Fear tactics were used to control the girls. “Girls are scared to speak up,” she said. They were made to swear oaths and warned: “If you try to run away, you will run mad, and it’s true. Most of the girls have run mad in this business. If you try to run away, you will run mad.”

Each day became a struggle to survive, marked by trauma and silence. Her most harrowing moment came when her madam forced her to meet a man in a hotel. “I had to be crying. I wasn’t even feeling what he was doing,” she said.

The payment, “300 cedis (about N20,000) per night,” went straight to her madam. Reflecting on her ordeal, she said, “What pains me most is leaving your house and coming to Ghana, without being told what you are coming to do.” What began as a promise had become a life sentence.

Journalists investigating the crisis say the trafficking network is deeply entrenched and operates in plain sight.

Koo Gyamfi of Aseda Fm in Ghana is one of the newsmen involved in exposing the racket. He said self-trafficking has been with them in the country for quite some years now.

Gyamfi revealed that those behind the trafficking make large profits and are willing to go to great lengths to protect their business.

“I’ve seen girls loitering around the streets, and many of them tell me they were lured under the guise of getting good jobs in Obuase. But they end up working as sex workers in hotels here.

“Your safety can be compromised when you try to shed light on this sex menace. It puts our security at risk. But it is our job to tell the truth,” He said.

Leaders of the Nigerian community in Obuase have voiced grave concerns about the situation, particularly the involvement of young girls.

Chief Nwakaibeya Okpanambalagu, Opinion leader of Nigeria community in Ghana, said they started experiencing the inflow of Nigerian girls around 2018, linking the development to greed on the part of the victims.

“Not about economic hardship, there is nothing good about prostitution. Not even the money. It is blood money,” said the head of the Igbo community in Obuase.

He recounted a disturbing case involving a child victim. “I met a Nigerian girl — about 13 or 12 — running on her own. She told me she had been in the sector for over a year.

“Her own auntie brought her into this system. That case opened my eyes. It is a web of criminality involving kidnapping, drug addiction, and more,” he revealed.

The Igbo leader further warned that Ghanaian hotel owners are now playing a more active role in the trade.

“The owners of the hotels are now becoming part of the business. They are buying the girls, while Nigerians hunt and bring them. That is what is happening now.” He said.

Meanwhile, the escaped victim had a stark warning for other girls considering a move to Ghana.

“I am clearly saying that it is not what you think it is here. It’s really hard. Leaving your comfort zone and coming to Ghana just to be working for someone,” she said.

“I would advise you to stay back in your home. Find a job, even if it doesn’t pay well. It is not safe for a girl to come here to sell her body for money.”

As authorities face mounting pressure to clamp down on the traffickers, community leaders are calling for urgent action.

“I’d behold the authorities in Obuase to take pragmatic actions to curb this issue of sex trafficking. They are not doing enough. Something must be done before this thing contaminates everybody,” the Igbo leader warned.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission, when contacted, condemned parents for allowing their children to be trafficked without questioning their certificates and motives for travelling.

Ndam Nanfa, the Assistant Chief Administration Officer at the NHRC in Gombe office, queried, “What qualifications do they have? Sometimes, people want to escape the hard work route to making wealth. It’s part of the get-rich-quick syndrome.”

He continued, “Some of those girls have not finished secondary school. However, there are those using them to get money and they fell for it but parents should know that since their children don’t have certificates, how and where do they expect them to get high paying jobs?

“Many people are not contented with their situation, but rather than explore self-improvement in the skills and academics, they want the easiest way out. There is a need for proper care from parents.

“Some are making it big here at home. All they need is to focus and be competitive in their vocations with the latest technology and trends.

“I think we need to advocate that henceforth when victims are arrested for being trafficked outside the country, then the parents of such victims too should be arrested parents, especially if they haven’t reached the maturity age. Come to think of it, what sort of job can you get without going to school for proper education, or with no skills, if not prostitution?” He lamented.

Attempt to get an official response on the inquiries of our correspondent sent to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.

More attempts made to get response from the Gombe State Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Aminu Shira, proved abortive as calls and text were unreplied to as at the time of filing this report. (The PUNCH)