- The women, arrested on August 4 during a clampdown on s3x work and drug trafficking, claim they were forced to pay between N15,000 and N50,000 to prevent their profiling videos from being posted online.
Commercial s3 workers in Edo State have accused officials of the Edo State Migration Agency of extortion following a recent raid in Benin City’s GRA area.
The women, arrested on August 4 during a clampdown on s3x work and drug trafficking, claim they were forced to pay between N15,000 and N50,000 to prevent their profiling videos from being posted online.
Despite the payments—allegedly made to one Uyinmwen Uyigue via POS—they say the videos were still shared publicly without their faces being blurred. One of the victims expressed shock, saying the agreement was broken.
“I am still in shock. I haven’t been myself since last Thursday. The Edo State Migration Agency recorded us and promised not to post the videos after collecting N50,000 from each of us, but they went ahead and posted them,” she lamented.
“I have proof of the money paid through POS. I was shocked when friends and family members called to say they saw my video on TikTok and Instagram.”
Another victim recounted her ordeal, saying, “On Friday evening, all these Migration people raided us at Ihama Street and arrested 30 of us. They detained us at their office and recorded videos with a promise not to publish them if we paid N50,000 each.
“The next thing, my family members saw the videos and started calling me. They said I brought shame to them and that they want nothing to do with me because of the video,” she further lamented.
When contacted, Mr. Uyigue confirmed collecting money from four s3x workers but claimed it was a fine imposed by lodge owners, not the Edo State Migration Agency.
He said the Benin GRA Hospitality Forum had set a N50,000 penalty for any lodge-based s3x worker caught soliciting in public.
“Activities of drug dealers have become a stigma to our businesses. We met with the Migration Agency, and they convinced us they meant business,” he said.
“We, as an association, decided that any lodge owner whose girl is caught soliciting outside will pay a fine of N50,000. The money those arrested girls paid was a fine from the lodge, not to the Migration Agency.”
Meanwhile, the Director General of the Edo State Migration Agency, Lucky Agazuma, denied any involvement by the agency in extorting the s3x workers, stating that the agency is well-funded and focused on rehabilitation efforts.
“We have never extorted s3x workers. Instead, we aim to rehabilitate them and reintegrate them into society. We have held several meetings with brothel operators. We told them we would not go after their brothels if they did not harbour underage girls,” Agazuma said.
“During our raids, we discovered that some of them kept underage girls. Those involved have been prosecuted and are now in prison, including the native doctor who administered oaths on them.
“There is also the issue of organ harvesting. As we speak, a husband and wife who trafficked a young girl to Mali are currently in prison.”
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