Plateau arrests bar owner for trafficking three girls to Ghana

Plateau State authorities have arrested a bar owner for human trafficking after rescuing three girls who were lured to Ghana for prostitution under the guise of legitimate employment opportunities.

The pregnant suspect, identified as Mrs. Yakubu, who operates a bar at the Rantya community in Jos, was paraded on Thursday at the State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission headquarters alongside the three rescued victims.

Two of the girls, aged between 18 and 19 years, were from Adamawa State, while one was from Plateau State.

Briefing journalists, the chairperson of the State Gender Commission, Olivia Dazyam, disclosed that the commission received information about the trafficking and worked with security agencies to repatriate the girls.

According to Dazyam, the suspects allegedly trafficked the girls to Ghana for prostitution, receiving “blood money” from the victims’ activities. She said one of the suspects’ own daughters is reportedly in Ghana, involved in the same situation.

“We want to let the people of Plateau State know that traffickers are living in our communities. Why would you want to send young girls to Ghana to go and do what?” Dazyam questioned.

She revealed that two women were involved in the trafficking operations, with one woman also causing the trafficking of two girls from Mangu to Ghana, though one escaped and has safely returned.

Dazyam warned traffickers that they will no longer be kept quiet and urged Plateau women to join the fight against trafficking. She added that the suspects will face further investigation and that the commission aims to uncover more about their activities.

In an interview, the suspect, Mrs. Yakubu, expressed regret over her actions but claimed that she was only helping the girls to secure a good job like her daughter in Ghana. She, however, declined to mention the nature of the business her daughter was doing in Ghana.

However, the three victims—Humata Ilya, Sendy Emmanuel, and Dorathy Yakubu—in separate interviews, countered Mrs. Yakubu’s narrative and insisted that they were deceived by the suspect and lured into Ghana for prostitution.

Emmanuel said, “She (suspect) deceived us. We were deceived. She told us that her daughter is doing gold business in Ghana, not knowing that we were going into prostitution”.

The suspect and the three trafficked victims were later moved to the state CID for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The arrest is part of a broader crackdown on human trafficking in Plateau State, which recently saw the state taskforce conduct a multi-location raid that resulted in 184 arrests, including suspected traffickers, recruiters, and accomplices.