Anambra State police stormed a hotel in Awka on Sunday evening, rescuing nine girls who had been used as sex slaves.
The hotel’s owner was also detained by authorities.
Tochukwu Ikenga, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Anambra State, said on Monday night that this followed a tip-off from the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare regarding the girls’ activities in the hotel.
The girls ranged in age from 15 to 23 years.
According to Ikenga, interrogation and admissions of the rescued females revealed that they were recruited to the brothel with promises of jobs to alleviate poverty and meet the needs of their parents and dependents.
They also admitted to being transported from Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, and Rivers States.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, in partnership with the Police Command, has pledged that the girls will be cared for and safely returned to their parents and guardians. The police denounced the incident and chastised those who exploit vulnerable people for financial gain.
It defines such areas as a haven for criminals and urges Anambra residents to continue to share information on such areas as coordinated operations to weed out such harbors have begun.
It also distributed phone numbers and encouraged individuals to contact the Command Control Room and the PPRO, while assuring them that all information passed through these channels would be treated with strict confidentiality.
Meanwhile, the case has been handed to the State Criminal Investigation Department Awka SCID for a thorough investigation, following which it will be charged in court.
