A Nigerian Pastor, alongside 23 other people suspected of being members of a sex trafficking ring have been arrested for forcing Nigerian women into prostitution.
The Nigerian Pastor, who has been identified as Stanley Omoregie, was arrested by the French Police following an investigation which was ongoing into the high level of prostitution in Lyon, France.
According to reports gathered, the investigation showed that half the city’s sex workers were Nigerians.
The police had received a tip about a Nigerian Pastor who had been exploiting sex workers who lived in apartments belonging to him.
Stanley Omoregie denied all charges which included aggravated pimping and slavery. But in the transcript of a conversation submitted to the court, he is heard saying he wanted “those with beautiful bodies, who can be controlled, not those that cause problems.”
Stanley Omoregie was identified as the leader of a family-based syndicate made up of 10 women and 14 men, including one of Europe’s most wanted women, Jessica Edosomwan, accused of recruiting destitute women in Nigeria for the sex trade in Lyon, Nimes and Montpellier.
Although Edosomwan was not part of the remaining 23 suspects captured by french policemen, she will be trialed in absentia.
A 28-year-old former prostitute was part of the 23 suspects. She was released from sex slavery only after paying off her debts and in turn brought over a young Nigerian woman from Nigeria to become a sex worker.
Prosecutors estimate that 17 alleged victims, aged 17 to 38, made up to 150,000 euros ($166,000) a month for the syndicate, selling sex for as little as 10 euros.
Months of police wiretaps and surveillance led to the arrest of the suspects between September 2017 and January 2018. They risk 10 years in jail if convicted. The UN has estimated that 80 percent of young Nigerian women arriving in Italy their first port of call in Europe are already in the clutches of prostitution networks, or quickly fall under their control.
According to reports gathered, most of the women used in this horrendous act came from Benin City, capital of Edo State, a human trafficking goldmine with a long history of sending both women and men to Europe to earn money to send back home.
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Many of these sex traders told the police that they had taken part in “juju” or black magic rituals before leaving Nigeria, during which they promised to repay the money they owed for their passage to Europe.
A lot of them went through the Sahara Desert to Libya and then across the Mediterranean to Italy before winding up in Lyon. All in a bid for a better life.