Follow Us on Google
From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
The Anambra State Police Command, yesterday, said it rescued nine girls aged 15 to 23, on Sunday, in a hotel in Awka, the state capital, where they were allegedly kept and used as sex slaves.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, who made the disclosure, in a statement issued to Daily Sun, said the police command was alerted about the development by the state Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare.
“Following the information received from Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare yesterday 18/6/2023 by 6pm, police operatives stormed a hotel in Awka and rescued nine girls within the age bracket of 15-23 years, used as sex slaves and arrested the proprietor of the hotel.
“Meanwhile, further interrogations/confessions of the rescued girls, reveal that the respective persons that brought them to the brothel lured/enticed them with the assurances of giving them jobs to alleviate poverty/needs of their parents and dependents. They further confessed to being taken from Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, and Rivers States.
Also, the police command is in collaboration with the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare to make sure that the girls are taken care of and safely returned to their parents/guardians.
“The command has condemned the act and frowned at such persons who take advantage of vulnerable individuals to make money and describe such places as a den where criminals take refuge.
“We urge the good people of Anambra to continue to provide the police with information about such places as the joint operations to weed such harbours has commenced,” the statement partly reads.
The PPRO further said the “case has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Awka for comprehensive investigation and shall be charged to court afterwards.”
