Over 20,000 Nigerian girls are trapped in Mali as sex slaves, this is according to a recent report by Al Jazeera News.
An investigation by Al Jazeera News discovered this and also confirmed a “collusion between Malian law enforcement and traffickers is hampering rescue efforts.”
The sex trade business is said to be flourishing in the country, because it benefits many influential people, also making it hard for the girls to escape.
The victims are forced to have sex with up to 10 men in a day.
It gathered that a Nigerian government agency has been making moves to get freedom for the victims. Some of them were captured in a documentary looking helpless with their situation.
According to an anti-human trafficking activist, Prosper Michael, in the clip posted via Al Jazeera’s Twitter on Thursday, the efforts made so far to stop the crime has been lacking the desired impact because many are gaining from the problem.
Nigeria is struggling to rescue ~20,000 girls forced into prostitution in Mali – due to corruption. pic.twitter.com/vJ49n84Z49
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 7, 2019
“In a situation where there are a lot of beneficiaries in a crime, it is very very difficult to eradicate it. “The people you think you can call to come and rescue these girls are benefiting every week,” says Michael while sharing the experience so far.
There are also reports of intimidation of Nigerians who have attempted to deliver the women from captors who promised them a means of living but never delivered on their vow. Those who attempted a rescue were reportedly forced to leave the vicinity where the girls are being held.