Teenage schoolgirls in Lagos are being exploited across Lagos state as prostitutes, Punch newspaper reported.
“I am in SS2.I want to go back to school and become a doctor or lawyer. But it looks more like a dream because there is no one to support it,” one of the girls interviewed for the story said. The girls also report facing physical and emotional abuse while being exploited by hotel owners and motel managers in areas such as Mushin, Bariga, Yaba, Obalende and Surulere.
One of the young girls, Mayowa, who is just 15 years old, left her home in Ogun State to support herself and her family.
“My family couldn’t take care of me anymore. There was nothing left at home. My parents were struggling so badly, they couldn’t even afford to send me to school. I felt like I had no choice but to leave. I thought maybe if I came to Lagos, I could find work, a way to send money home. But it didn’t take long before I found out that people here, especially women like me, are treated like nothing,” she stated.
She shared her experience of working for a woman who took advantage of her vulnerability in a well-known area in Mushin called Ghetto, a notorious hotspot for drug peddlers.
“Recently, the police and NDLEA were coming to arrest drug peddlers at Ghetto. The raids were becoming more frequent. So, we had to scatter. That was when I met my friend, and we started contributing N3,000 daily to stay here. It is a hotel, but it is not safe. Men come and go, and you do what you have to do to survive,” she tells punch.
