Nigerian Embassy Rescues 24 Trafficked Girls(Nigerians) from Sexual Exploitation in Senegal.

The Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, in collaboration with an NGO, has successfully rescued 24 Nigerian girls who were being sexually exploited in Senegal's Tamaccounda and Kedougou regions.

On Sunday, June 23, 2024, Salihu Abubakar, the acting ambassador of the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, revealed this to the Nigerian News Agency.

He said that the victims, who were largely young girls and women between the ages of 11 and 24, were transported to Senegal for sexual exploitation via Cotonou, Benin Republic, and the Mali-Senegal border.

Abubakar explained, "these girls and many more are being trafficked to Senegal through Cotonou, Benin Republic via Mali to the Senegal border for prostitution."

Based on initial inquiries, it appears that most of the women and girls were dropouts from Edo and Delta states, with a smaller number coming from Imo, Abia, and two Plateau states.

According to Abubakar, two of the 24 girls and women had safely returned to Nigeria on Saturday, while the other 22 had been repatriated many weeks earlier.

Both the victims' health condition and the length of time they were exploited are kept secret.

But the ambassador underlined that the successful return shows how closely the embassy and the non-governmental organization "Free the Slaves" (also known as "La Lumiere" in French) cooperate internationally to combat human trafficking. 

"Our main goal and number one priority is to discourage the trafficking of our Nigerian girls to any part of the world for prostitution under any guise," Abubakar said.