Nigerian teenager, Sara (not real name), was deceived into travelling to Bouaké, Ivory Coast, under the guise of selling body lotion.
Instead, she was forced into sex work by an older woman, a “madam,” who financed her travel without her consent.
According to The Guardian UK, Sara, now known as Sugar, earns between 3,000–5,000 Central African Francs (CFA) roughly equivalent to (N2,550-4,250) per short-term client and 25,000 CFA (N21,250) for an overnight stay.
Her earnings are divided among the brothel, herself, and the madam.
Three months into her ordeal, Sara remains in debt, owing 2.5 million CFA (N2,125,000) for travel, clothing, and bribes.
Her Nigerian sim card was confiscated upon arrival, cutting her off from her family.
Sara is among thousands of Nigerian women trafficked to Ivory Coast, where they are exploited in brothels. Traffickers exploit high unemployment in Nigeria, falsely promising lucrative work to their victims.
Many trafficked women live in remote areas like Tengréla, near the Malian border, in poor conditions. They are often kept in makeshift brothels and are forced to work in dangerous environments.
Despite Ivory Coast’s laws against trafficking, enforcement is weak. Corruption and inadequate policing allow traffickers to operate with impunity, leading to continued exploitation of trafficked individuals.
Sara continues to hope for a return to Nigeria. She expresses her dissatisfaction with her current situation and her longing to be reunited with her family.
“A lot of the girls we found claim to be over 18 and doing sex work of their own free will, but most of the time from their physical appearance, you know they are not,” says the former Nigerian official.
“Tests to determine their age, such as scanning a wisdom tooth, cost about 50,000 CFA so you have to talk to them, but if they are insistent, you let them go back.”
