SEX WORKERS ACCUSE EDO MIGRATION AGENCY OF EXTORTION, VIDEO EXPOSURE
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
A group of commercial sex workers in Benin, Edo State, have accused the Edo State Migration Agency of extortion and breaching their privacy following a recent raid by the agency.
The women, who were arrested during a Monday night operation targeting commercial sex workers and drug traffickers, claimed they were forced to pay between N15,000 and N50,000 before being released. They further alleged that officials promised not to share videos taken during their detention a promise that was allegedly broken.
“I am still in shock,” one of the affected women said. “The agency recorded us and demanded N50,000 each, assuring us the video wouldn’t be posted. I have proof of payment made via POS. But my video ended up on TikTok and Instagram. My friends and family saw it and started calling.”
Another woman added, “We were raided at Ihama Street, about 30 of us. They detained and profiled us, took our video, collected N50,000 each and still posted the footage online. My family has disowned me.”
The sex workers presented POS receipts allegedly made to one Uyinmwen Uyigue as evidence of the payments.
In response, Uyigue a member of the GRA Hospitality Forum confirmed collecting money from four women but said the payments were fines levied by lodge owners, not the Migration Agency. According to him, the forum had agreed that any lodge whose occupant is caught soliciting on the streets would be fined N50,000.
“Drug activity has affected our business,” Uyigue stated. “We worked with the Migration Agency and agreed that girls found on the streets would attract a fine not by the agency, but by lodge management.”
Reacting to the allegations, the Director General of the Edo State Migration Agency, Lucky Agazuma, denied any extortion by the agency, insisting that the operation was aimed at rehabilitation, not profit.
“Our agency is well-funded and not in the business of extortion. We are committed to rehabilitating these women and eliminating underage prostitution and trafficking,” Agazuma said.
He added that the agency’s operations have led to arrests of individuals involved in trafficking, including a native doctor and a couple who allegedly trafficked a young girl to Mali.
Agazuma emphasized that the agency’s focus is on protecting vulnerable girls and dismantling trafficking networks, not targeting adult sex workers in brothels, provided they comply with the law.
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