Amid renewed efforts to tackle human trafficking, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, has ordered a comprehensive investigation and manhunt for operators of a suspected child prostitution ring on Lagos Island.
The operation to track down the principal suspects behind the syndicate followed the rescue of 12 girls aged between 12 and 16 by operatives of the command, based on intelligence gathered from one of the victims.
The rescue operation was triggered after a victim, whose identity was not disclosed, reported the case to the police after escaping from a hotel where she and others were allegedly being exploited.
As gathered, the young girl, said to be 16-year-old, was lured from Delta State to Lagos under the false promise of a catering job, only to be forced into prostitution and subjected to daily abuse in a hotel on Lagos Island
However, the teenager, after enduring unbearable maltreatment from her exploiter and refusing to comply with their demands, escaped from the hotel and reported the matter to the police command in the area.
Speaking to journalists after the operation yesterday, the police commissioner disclosed that the victims were trafficked from different parts of the country, adding that the woman who allegedly brought the 16-year-old girl to Lagos had been arrested alongside an accomplice.
He said the victims were receiving medical treatment after being taken to hospital due to their condition, adding that all the rescued girls were currently in protective custody.
The police boss further stated that investigations had commenced to track down the owner of the hotel, who was not present during the raid, as well as the principal suspect behind the network.