…..as Corps rescues Two Ondo State-born Ladies in Mali after rejecting Prostitution
By: Ade Adeleke
Men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun Corps, have cautioned youth to be wary of foreign trip offers that can ruin their future.
The Amotekun Commander, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye gave the warning in Akure while reacting to the rescuing of two Ondo State-Born, a 17-year-old Adeoye Funmilola and a 20-year-old Sandra Adeyeye from Mali and unite them with their family members in Akure on Wednesday.
The Amotekun Boss said the girls were deceived by an elderly man who lives on same street with them in Owo, promising them of greener pastures in Mali, but unknown to the victims, they were being taken to Mali for prostitution.
SUNSHINETRUTH gathered that, before the girls left for Mali, they were told they are going to be paid the amount of Two hundred thousand naira (#200, 000) monthly. On getting to the country, they were introduced to prostitution which made the girls ran away.
In an interview, one of the victims, Oluwafumilayo Adeoye who is a hairdresser and a Senior Secondary School 3 dropout student of New Church Grammar School, Owo in Owo local government area of Ondo state narrated her ordeal.
“I am from Ikare-Akoko in Ondo state.
On how she got to Mali, she said; “Matthew Olupona told us that there are lots of works in Mali, so, we agreed to go there to work. Our parents didn’t know about it, there were three of us that went there, I was the only one from Ikare Akoko, the other two are from Owo.
“Before I went to Mali, I was learning tailoring, but yet to do my graduation.
I could not continue my education because my parents are not financially buoyant.
“I got an offer to be a sales representative in Mali with a salary of #200, 000 naira monthly. I jumped at the offer, because I saw it as a huge opportunity to say goodbye to poverty and make life better for myself and my mother.
“We did not tell our parents about our plan to travel to Mali because we were warned not to tell anyone.
“I stopped in senior secondary school 3 before I took the decision to travel to Mali in quest for a greener pasture.
“We left in January this year and came back on the 9th of March. When we got to Mali, we realized that, the woman we were asked to work for asked us to start doing prostitution.
“We did not agree to go into prostitution because that was against the agreement that brought us there. Although, there were lots of Nigerians out there who indulged in prostitution for a living.
“I and my friend planed to run away from the house. We meet lots of Nigerians out there and we were lucky to see someone who took us in.
“The other woman told us that they will use our pants to perform rituals and that anywhere we escaped to, they will locate us. After much threats, luckily, we were able to escape back to Nigeria.
“We really appreciate men of the Amotekun Corps for making sure we got back to Nigeria safely. And to young ladies like me out there, let us be contented with whatever we have”, she advised.
Also speaking, the suspect who tricked the girls out of Owo to Mali, narrated that he never knew anything of such could happen to the girls as they were like his younger sisters who are living across the street.
“My name is Olupona Matthew, I am from Owo in Ondo state, I am 27-year-old and a barber.
“There was a woman I met in Lagos, I used to buy underwears from Lagos to sell in Owo, we lodged in same hotel, she told me that there was a job opportunity in Malli, that if I have younger sisters that can work in a hotel.
She told me this last year, I didn’t show any interest in it, until in January this year, when she sent me a message based on our last discussion which was about helping her to get girls to Mail for receptionist job in an Hotel.
“Based on that, I told her that I have some ladies living in my street who are like my younger sisters and when i told them, they said they had interest.
“What the woman told me was that they will be working in an hotel and bar and that was why I took them to Lagos.
“I did not do any finding because this is my first time, I have never done it before, if I had known they were going for any contrary mission, I wouldn’t have let them go because they are like my younger sisters and they respect me a lot.
“It was when they got there that they they told me what they saw, so I asked them to start coming back.
“I didn’t go with them, though I was the one that linked them up, but I don’t know if the woman has been arrested over there, I can’t find the woman again.
“I introduced the two girls to the woman. I was not given anything, those girls are my younger sisters in the street”,he explained.
Speaking further on the incident, the Ondo State Amotekun Commander, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, affirmed that the girls were rescued in Mali and brought back to Nigeria to unite with their families.
“Amotekun got involved when our intelligence gathered information that there is a man in Owo recruiting people for prostitution.
“We searched and got him, he said he was working for somebody. Before we could got the person, he had already traveled with the children.
“We got the parents of the children through the suspect and the parents said they did not release there daughters to him.
“So we brought the parents of the two girls and the man that took them away and demanded they must be brought back to Nigeria.
“We tracked the woman who took them to Mali and mounted pressure on her and she confessed to us, that the girls have escaped from her house.
“Based on intelligence gathering, we were able to locate the girls in Mali, sent money to the person they were staying with who thereafter, sent them back home”, he stated.
The Amotekun Commander who doubles as the Special Adviser to the Ondo State Governor on Security Matters, urged youths to shun the idea of getting quick wealth through dubious means, but exercise patience and say no to a lifestyle that could jeopardize their future.
He also admonished parents to always and adequately monitor their children and caution them against their dangerous moves to acquire wealth.
“The reality is that, it is an illusion to think for shorter step to make money”, Adeleye said.
