I used to sleep with five men in a day – 14-year-old prostitute

 14-year-old prostitute, Uduak
When 14- year old Uduak (surname withheld) from Oron, Akwa Ibom State, suddenly found herself in Lagos about two years ago, she probably thought she had found a new home where she would continue with her education. But she was wrong.

Prior to her unplanned arrival in Lagos, she was a primary five pupil at St. Mark Catholic Church, Oron.

By her account, she was abducted from school two years ago by a man she identified simply as Goddy. She said Goddy brought her to Lagos and handed her over to a woman identified as Queen Gbeburu, also known as Iyawo olopa (policeman‘s wife).

Although Gbeburu gave Goddy some money after he handed over Uduak, the teenager was still not sure of her mission in her new home.

She later realised that she had been sold to a prostitution syndicate headed by Gbeburu. She was 12 years then and despite her young age, she became a sex machine in the hands of men at Imowonla Village, Ijede in Ikorodu area of the state.

Uduak told PUNCH METRO, “Goddy handed me over to a woman, who has been using me for prostitution since then. At times, I would sleep with a man throughout a night and he would pay my madam, N1, 500. At times I would sleep with five men in a night and each of them would pay my madam N500. She was arrested but she is no longer in police detention now.

“The police later learnt about my predicament and came to rescue me. I want to be reunited with my parents. I am really sad and tired of life of prostitution. I am not happy that I have not been attending school since two year ago.”

A source, who did not want her name mentioned, said all the money Uduak realised from prostitution went to her madam, adding that Uduak got pregnant and Gbeburu allegedly aborted the pregnancy.

It was learnt that the bubble burst when Gbeburu attempted to sell Uduak to another woman. Gbeburu demanded N150,000 but the other woman was willing to pay N100,000. During the negotiation, Uduak overheard the two women and became apprehensive because she thought she was about to be sold to ritual killers.

Uduak raised the alarm, which attracted curious neighbours. One of them reported the matter at Ijede Police Station.

PUNCH METRO learnt that one of the police officers on duty, Mrs. Toyin Ogunsanya, co-opted her husband, who posed as a customer who wanted Uduak’s service for the night. But Gbeburu suspected that the man was not a genuine customer. She told him that the girl was not around.

However, following a tip-off that Uduak was still in Gbeburu‘s compound, Ogunsanya and a team of policemen stormed the compound last week Tuesday and rescued the girl.

Police later discovered that Gbeburu ran a syndicate, which lured girls into prostitution.

The source added, “Somebody came and reported at Ijede Police Station that there was a syndicate where girls were being bought and sold. The policewoman with the assistance of other policemen, stormed the place and found Uduak in a room where she was locked up and rescued her.

Uduak is now at the police station. She told our correspondent that her utmost priority was to reconcile with her parents, adding that she was tired of prostitution.

An official of Akwa Ibom Liaison Office in Lagos, who declined to mention his name, told our correspondent on the telephone that he had not been briefed by the police on the matter.

He said, “I have not been briefed about the matter. I will wait for the police report. There is still no information in my office in respect of that. The police know what to do. They should officially get an extract and send it to us. We will then know the person that brought her and maybe the person will be prosecuted by the ministry.

“The police should liaise with us, give us report on what happened and the people involved. Then they should help us to make sure that the person who brought the girl is taken back to the scene of crime, which is Akwa Ibom, and then we will hand him over to the Ministry of Women Affairs, which is in a position to prosecute such a case. I am just hearing about the case for the first time.”

The Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, Lagos Branch, Dr. Teniye Banisan, also in a telephone interview said the girl must have been traumatised, adding that chances were high that she might have contracted sexually transmitted diseases.

“There is a psychological complication; she has been traumatised. The chances that she might have contracted sexually transmitted diseases, even HIV, are very high. The girl needs to be brought for medical examination. She needs a psychologist that will work on her to get out from that state,” he said.

A constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said the act was a serious offence, which attracted years of imprisonment.

“It is a serious breach of the Child Right Act and also a breach of laws on human trafficking. It attracts many years of imprisonment, particularly when the victim is a child. It is a double offence. There is human trafficking and using of the child for such an illegal and immoral purpose,” he said.

The Lagos State Police Command spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, in a telephone interview confirmed that the girl was in the custody of the police, adding that investigation had commenced.

He said the police were discreet in handling the matter because of the underage status of the victim and would bring the culprits to book as well as explore ways to rehabilitate the victim.

Mba said, “I can confirm the fact that an under-aged girl was picked up from somewhere in Ijede, Ikorodu axis of Lagos. Because of the age of that girl, the approach of the police has been to try to investigate the case discretely and see how we can also rehabilitate her and also bring whoever must have been responsible to book.

“The girl, from investigation, obviously is less than 18. She is about 14 years. We are therefore being very careful not to expose her to the public and further cause more psychological harm to her. But the case is under investigation and at the end of investigation, we will obviously bring those responsible to book while also looking for ways to rehabilitate the girl.”

Source:http://www.punchng.com