In a joint overnight operation, the Nigerian Embassy and a Senegalese-based NGO rescued 24 Nigerian girls from sexual exploitation in the Tamaccounda and Kedougou regions of Senegal. The acting Ambassador of the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, Salihu Abubakar, reported this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.

The girls, mostly under-aged and ranging from 11 to 24 years old, were trafficked to Senegal via Cotonou in the Republic of Benin and the Mali-Senegal border for sexual exploitation. “These girls are being trafficked to Senegal through Cotonou, Benin Republic via Mali to the Senegal border for prostitution,” Abubakar said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that most of the girls were school dropouts from Edo and Delta states, with a few from Imo and Abia, and two from Plateau. Of the 24 girls, 22 were repatriated to Nigeria weeks ago, and the remaining two returned safely on Saturday.

While the health status and details of their exploitation period were not immediately available, the successful repatriation underscores the strengthened international cooperation between the embassy and the NGO “Free the Slaves” (La Lumiere in French) in fighting human trafficking.

“Our main goal and number one priority is to discourage the trafficking of our Nigerian girls to any part of the world for prostitution under any disguise,” Abubakar emphasized.