Woman arrested for allegedly forcing 16-year-old pupil on holiday into prostitution in Rivers state

 

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Rivers State, says it has captured a lady recognized as Blessing Iniedem for supposedly compelling a 16-year-old young lady into prostitution at a whorehouse in the Mile Three hub of Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The state NAPTIP Commander, Amaka Ikediashi, let newsmen know that Iniedem, who supposedly owned the brothel, brought the young person from Akwa Ibom State all the while intending to mislead and misdirect.

“The victim in question is 16-year-old. She was brought from Oron, Akwa Ibom State, to Rivers State, for forced prostitution by a certain Miss Blessing Iniedem, aka Patience, at a brothel.

The suspect, Blessing Iniedem, told her that she was taking her on holiday and on getting to Rivers State, she was forced into prostitution.

When we were notified, alongside our major stakeholders, we arrested the suspect, and rescued the victim.”

 

Asked what the agency would do with the suspect, Ikediashi said, “Definitely, NAPTIP is going to prosecute her because it is a case of forced sexual exploitation.”

 

Also confirming the incident, the Chairperson, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Rivers State, Adata Bio-Briggs, said the teenager was first taken to a brothel in Gbundu, a popular waterfront in Port Harcourt, but was rejected because she was “too small.”

 

“They now took her to a brothel in Mile Three and they accepted her there. The victim told me that they put her in a house and gave her a lady as her madam. This lady collected N500 from the men that slept with her and it’s been going on for a while,” she added.