We Had To Work as Prostitutes to Pay Back N5 Million, or N2.5 Million If We Could Pay Upfront – Lara Revealed.

 

We Had To Work as Prostitutes to Pay Back N5 Million, or N2.5 Million If We Could Pay Upfront - Lara Revealed.

(NOTE: Photo used for illustrative purposes only. Doesn’t represent the victim, Lara)

Lara, a victim of human trafficking, has revealed the shocking reality faced by young Nigerian women lured abroad with promises of better opportunities, only to be forced into prostitution to repay enormous debts. According to a report by PUNCH, Lara, who was barely out of her teenage years when she left Nigeria, was promised a job in Europe. She was told she would work in a salon and earn enough to support her family back home.

However, upon arrival in the foreign country, the promises disappeared. Instead, she was given two options by her traffickers: pay N2.5 million upfront to buy her freedom or be forced into prostitution until she repaid N5 million. Like many others, Lara had no choice but to work under harrowing conditions to meet the traffickers’ demands.

According to her, this is a common tactic used by trafficking syndicates. Young women are made to swear oaths of secrecy, often in traditional shrines, binding them psychologically to their captors. Once abroad, the reality is far from what they were told.

Their passports are seized, movement restricted, and they’re subjected to constant threats and abuse. They are forced to work long hours in brothels, sometimes sleeping with dozens of men each week, under the constant pressure to meet financial targets.

She said: “The woman I was handed over to looked us dead in the eye and said we were brought to work in a connection house, a brothel. She laughed when I told her I thought I was coming to work in a restaurant and would be going to school. Another girl thought she would be a housemaid. It was all fake. We had to work as sex workers and pay back N5m, or N2.5m if we could pay upfront.”