Woman arrested in Anambra for alleged trafficking of underage girls…

A woman has been arrested in Anambra State for allegedly trafficking some underage girls for prostitution in the state.

The woman, Ekpereamaka Okonkwo, was arrested on Tuesday in Awka, the state capital.

Mrs Okonkwo, popularly known as Ukwu Venza, hails from Otolo Nnewi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra State, Ify Obinabo, said that the suspect owned a shanty brothel in the community where she kept some underage girls for prostitution.

The girls were between the ages of 12 and 13.

Mrs Obinabo said she usually trafficked the girls from various communities to her brothel.

Mrs Obinabo said she had attempted to track the suspect down after a video exposing her illicit act went viral, but she went into hiding, apparently to avoid being arrested and prosecuted.

The commissioner said the suspect later phoned her, requesting for an opportunity to meet her in order to “water the ground.”

She said the suspect subsequently scheduled a meeting on Sunday in Asaba, the Delta State capital, and offered her a bribe of N300,000 through the husband with a promise to make a total payment of N2 million to get the commissioner to discontinue the case.

Mrs Obinabo, however, contacted police operatives in Anambra State who laid ambush for the suspect in Awka, where the commissioner had insisted to see the suspect for further discussion based on the bribe offered.

The suspect and her husband were consequently arrested when they showed up at the location apparently to “strike a deal” with the commissioner.

Mrs Obinabo said she was told that the suspect was earlier running the trafficking business in Nnewi where she was popularly known as “Madam Padded”, before relocating to Oba to continue the illegal business.

Oba is a community in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.

The commissioner recalled that, in 2019, a shanty brothel in Nnewi owned by the suspect was gutted by fire which killed three commercial sex workers who were working for her.

She alleged that the suspect was responsible for the deaths of the victims because the suspect had locked the victims in a room in the brothel to prevent them from having sex with other men who did not pay her directly.

Mrs Obinabo said the state government was determined to prosecute child offenders in the state.

The commissioner added that her ministry would not relent in facilitating the arrest of those involved in “sexual slavery” in the state.

When contacted on Tuesday evening, the police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident.