Al Jazeera has shared a heart-wrenching story of about 20,000 Nigerian girls who are currently being used as sex slaves in Mali and held against their will.
Escaping has been particularly difficult for the ladies due to the fact that there are many influential individuals who benefit from the proceeds of the sex slave business in the country.
According to Al Jazeera News, another factor that has seriously hindered the ladies from escaping is because there is a “collusion between Malian law enforcement and traffickers is hampering rescue efforts.”
In the documentary, the news site equally shared how a Nigerian agency had consistently made arrangements to secure the release of the ladies but no landmark progress had been made. Some of the ladies can also be seen looking distraught and hopeless.
While sharing his thoughts on the situation, an anti-human trafficking activist, Prosper Michael, said, “In a situation where there are a lot of beneficiaries in a crime, it is very very difficult to eradicate it.
“The people you think you can call to come and rescue these girls are benefiting every week.”
The investigators equally revealed that Nigerians in Mali have tried to rescue the ladies from their captors, however, they had to leave when it proved too hard to accomplish.
The ladies are said to have been promised a better life before leaving Nigeria, only to find out that the promises were complete lies.
Instead, they are made to take shelter in some poorly built structures where about 10 men come to have sex with them on a daily basis.
Watch the documentary below.
Nigeria is struggling to rescue ~20,000 girls forced into prostitution in Mali – due to corruption. pic.twitter.com/vJ49n84Z49
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 7, 2019