By Florencemary Nwabueze

A 19-year-old girl from Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, identified as Ejiro, has allegedly lost her womb after being trafficked to Ivory Coast under the guise of securing a job abroad, in a shocking case of human trafficking and forced prostitution.

According to a video published by the Delta State Police Command on Saturday, Ejiro was approached by a woman identified as Blessing, a friend of her father and a mother of four, who promised to help her secure a good job abroad.

Blessing reportedly handed her over to another woman, Esther, a mother of three, who facilitated the trip to Ivory Coast.

“This is one of the most pathetic cases,” said Bright Edafe, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Delta State Police Command and a Superintendent of Police (SP), describing the victim’s ordeal as “inhuman treatment”.

Upon arrival in Ivory Coast, Ejiro discovered the job was prostitution. She refused, begged to return to Nigeria, and pleaded with her traffickers. Instead, she was given a substance to drink. After falling ill, she was taken to a facility posing as a hospital, where she was injected until she fell unconscious and was subsequently operated on.

“They removed her womb all because they wanted her to engage in prostitution and make money without fear of pregnancy,” Edafe stated.

After discovering that the wound on Ejiro’s abdomen was not healing, she was abandoned in Lagos. She later managed to make her way back to Delta State, where the case was reported to the police.

The police took her for a medical examination at a hospital, after which a doctor confirmed that her womb had been removed.

Police authorities have since arrested Blessing and Esther. During interrogation, Blessing reportedly admitted to receiving ₦400,000 for the act, while Esther confessed to receiving ₦150,000.

“The painful part is that one of the women involved, Blessing, has an 18-year-old daughter. She could not use her own daughter, yet she collected money to destroy another woman’s child,” Edafe added.

The police said investigations are still ongoing to apprehend all other suspects involved in the case.

Vanguard News