By Paul Aondoakaa 

An 18-year-old girl from Benue State has alleged that she escaped from a human trafficking network in Mali after enduring months of exploitation and abuse. The survivor, whose identity is being protected, recounted her experience shortly after returning safely to Makurdi, warning other young women against deceptive overseas job offers.

According to her account, traffickers recruited her and three other young women with promises of employment opportunities abroad before transporting them through multiple locations and eventually into Mali.

An 18-year-old survivor from Benue State has described how she allegedly escaped from a trafficking network in Mali after months of exploitation, forced prostitution and abuse.

Speaking to journalists shortly after arriving in Makurdi at the weekend, the teenager said she and three other young women were recruited in March 2026 with promises of lucrative jobs and financial independence outside Nigeria.

According to her account, the journey began in Benue State and passed through Otukpo, Enugu and Lagos before the group was moved through several West African countries and eventually into Mali through what she described as illegal routes.

The survivor alleged that traffickers instructed the girls to pose as sachet water vendors while in Lagos and later kept them indoors as preparations were made for their movement out of Nigeria.

She further claimed that the syndicate relied on bush paths to avoid immigration checks and provided falsified identity documents bearing altered personal information.

Upon arrival in Mali, the teenager alleged that the girls were separated and assigned to different handlers who confiscated their phones and travel documents.

According to her testimony, the employment opportunities promised to them never materialized. Instead, she said she was forced into commercial sex work and required to surrender all earnings to her handler.

The teenager alleged that victims lived under harsh conditions, often surviving on a single meal daily while facing intimidation, physical assault and threats.

She further claimed that some victims were subjected to traditional oath-taking rituals and warned against attempting escape until they had repaid large debts imposed by traffickers.

The survivor alleged that she was compelled to attend to numerous clients daily and faced physical punishment whenever she questioned instructions or failed to meet expectations.

She said deteriorating health conditions worsened her ordeal, adding that medical expenses were incorporated into the debt she was allegedly forced to repay despite deductions already made from her earnings.

According to her, an opportunity for escape emerged when she secretly contacted an acquaintance in Nigeria who connected her with individuals assisting stranded trafficking victims.

She eventually escaped after her handler allegedly became intoxicated and inadvertently left money in her possession, allowing her to flee the settlement where she was being held.

The teenager claimed that many Nigerian girls remain trapped in the same area, including some who are pregnant and unable to fund their return home.

Warning young people against suspicious migration offers, she described promises of easy wealth and overseas employment as deceptive and dangerous.

“I gave close to a million CFA francs and I still was not free, so I ran,” she said.

Upon her arrival in Makurdi, the survivor was received by the General Manager of Benue Links Nigeria Limited, Comrade Alexander Fanafa, who facilitated her transportation from Lagos to Benue at no cost.

Fanafa called for stronger efforts to dismantle trafficking networks operating across Benue State and neighbouring countries. He urged security agencies and relevant authorities to identify and disrupt routes allegedly used by traffickers, warning that human trafficking continues to endanger many young Nigerians.