15 killed in clashes in central Nigeria

At least 15 people were killed over the past few days in separate attacks in central Nigeria's Benue State, the scene of regular clashes between Christian farmers and nomadic cattle herders, official sources said Wednesday.
Suspected militant herders carried out the attacks on several villages in under 48 hours, Benue State information minister Lawrence Onoja said.
The village of Tse Ishav, near Guma, was attacked at around 3am on Wednesday, with militants "leaving behind eight corpses, several missing and many wounded," he said.
It came after two other people were killed on Monday by the same armed men close to the nearby locality of Yelwata, he added.
The head of Guma's local government Anthony Shawon confirmed the death toll of 10, adding that the attackers set fire to houses and farms as they left.
The same militia also carried out further attacks in the neighbouring district of Logo where "five people were killed... and many more wounded," said Onoja.
The head of the local government Richard Nyajo echoed the report, adding that police reinforcements have been deployed.
Benue state has seen a wave of deadly clashes which have left hundreds dead in recent months.
The area lies in the so-called "Middle Belt" between Nigeria's mainly-Christian south and predominantly-Muslim north.

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Ethiopia's PM says ending war, expanding economic links with Eritrea key for regional stability

Ethiopia's prime minister said on Wednesday that ending war and expanding economic ties with neighbouring Eritrea is critical for stability and development in the impoverished Horn of Africa region.

Abiy Ahmed's remarks followed the announcement on Tuesday by his ruling coalition that Ethiopia would fully implement a peace deal signed in 2000 and meant to end a two-year war that devolved into a stalemate resulting in huge military build up by both countries.
The pledge would entail ceding a disputed town to Eritrea. There was no sign on Wednesday that Ethiopia had begun withdrawing its troops from the town of Badme.
It is one of many policy shifts announced since the 41-year-old took office in early April, moves that could reshape Ethiopia's relations with its neighbours and have equally dramatic impacts inside the country of 100 million people.

Whether the new measures, including liberalisation of the state-controlled economy, end up addressing critical challenges from high youth unemployment to rising government debt remain to be seen. But they are shaking the country up.

"All that we have achieved from the situation of the last 20 years is tension," Abiy said.
"Neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea benefit from a stalemate. We need to expend all our efforts towards peace and reconciliation and extricate ourselves from petty conflicts and divisions and focus on eliminating poverty."

Ethiopia’s move is a “drastic departure” from its longstanding – and failed – policy, said Ahmed Soliman, Ethiopia analyst at Chatham House, a London-based thinktank.
“To see some movement is extremely positive. This is the most important latent conflict within the Horn and its resolution is important for peace and security in the region.”

NO COMMENT FROM ERITREA
Eritrea used to be a part of Ethiopia and waged a 30-year struggle for independence. The war on their shared border between 1998 and 2000 killed tens of thousands of people, caused significant displacement and the splintering of families.

Eritrea's government has not responded publicly to Addis Ababa’s offer of an olive branch late on Tuesday. The two nations cut ties during the war.
Asmara's Information Minister told Reuters on Tuesday evening he had not seen the Ethiopian government's statement so could not immediately comment. He did not respond to phone calls on Wednesday.

Eritrea has long said it wants Ethiopia to pull its troops out from the disputed territory before normalizing ties, citing a decision by a boundary commission at The Hague which awarded the village of Badme to Eritrea in 2002.
Asmara has long felt betrayed by world powers, who they say failed to force Ethiopia to abide by the commission ruling.

Ethiopia says the row over border demarcation can only be resolved through a negotiated settlement.
On Tuesday, an Ethiopian foreign ministry official told Reuters that there were "at least 61 attempts" to mediate between the two nations, but that Asmara had rejected all requests.
Russia, the European Union, and Qatar were among those that proposed to mediate in the last two decades, he said.

Abiy said Ethiopia needed to resolve what he seemed to view as a costly and pointless dispute.
"Putting an end to this situation and finding peace is necessary beyond anything else not just for Ethiopia but for the wider Horn of Africa," he said in a speech in Addis Ababa.

"Every Ethiopian should realise that it is expected of us to be a responsible government that ensures stability in our region, one that takes the initiative to connect the brotherly peoples of both countries and expands trains, buses and economic ties between Asmara and Addis Ababa."
Diplomats say punitive measures taken against Eritrea may prevent an immediate conclusion to the dispute.

The U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea in 2009 on charges that Asmara provided political, financial and logistical support to militant groups in Somalia. Eritrea has long dismissed the claims, saying they are concocted by Addis Ababa in a bid to isolate the country and divert attention from Ethiopia's reluctance to hand over the disputed areas.

"The Eritrean government has always proclaimed its innocence and will demand that the sanctions are promptly lifted. This could be a sticking point for now," said a Western diplomat in Ethiopia.

Young man brutally beaten and stabbed in the head with a broken bottle by vigilante in onitsha

A young man was left with serious inquiries after members of a vigilante group, who accused him of been a MASSOB boy, allegedly stabbed him on the head with a broken bottle in Onitsha.

Woman pays assassin N10k to kill husband for marrying a second wife in Osun

The Osun State Police command have arrested one Mrs Omotayo Salawudeen, 39, for allegedly killing her husband, 43 year old Salawudeen Hakeem, just because he married a second wife. The state commissioner of police, Olafimihan Adeoye, disclosed this while speaking with journalists today on the achievement of his command for the months of June and mid July.

According to CP Adeoye, the incident happened at the couple's home  at No.11, Adeniran street, Hallelujah Estate, Osogbo. The police Commissioner said his men acted upon the receipt of a case of murder which was lodged at Dada Estate Divisional Police Headquarters by one Engineer Salawudeen Jimoh of No, 37 Engineer Adesina Salawudeen Street Osogbo, adding that his men who swung into action immediately, carried out comprehensive investigations.

The investigations carried out led to the arrest of the deceased wife, Omotayo Salawudeen and her co-plotter, Oladapo Dolapo, a hired assassin. The assassin Oladapo, an ex-convict who just gained his freedom from Ilesa prison about four months ago was contacted by Mrs. Omotayo Salawudeen at Sabo Area of Osogbo to kill her husband on the ground that her husband married a second wife and she offered to pay N10, 000, 00 for the job as against the N300, 000. 00 earlier demanded by Oladapo.

“Having concluded their plans, the duo exchanged numbers while Mrs. Omotayo later called Oladapo to inform him of her husband’s whereabouts. Mrs. Omotayo Salawudeen took Oladapo through the kitchen and hid him inside a store in their apartment. When the husband came, the wife signaled her guest (Oladapo) and immediately,Mrs. Omotayo Salawudeen used pillow to cover her husband’s mouth while Oladapo Dolapo, a musician from Ejigbo, stabbed him to death in his chest”, the CP said.

Meanwhile, after the killing, Oladapo wrote some inscriptions such as “NO PRICE NO PAY”, “AXE AYE” “FORGIVENESS IS A SIN” on the wall and door respectively under the disguise that the killing was carried out by cultists.

“The wife made an outcry after Oladapo had gone to raise alarm that suspected assassins have killed her husband”.

The duo of Mrs Salawudeen who had sometimes gone to her rival’s house with a petrol keg with a threat to burn her hands down, and her partner in crime Oladapo Dolapo have been arrested and being subjected to further investigations.

I have been married for 10 years and desperate to have a child- Woman arrested for stealing baby in Akwa Ibom

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command arrested one Peace Chukwuemeka, for stealing a one-month-old baby from the baby's mother. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Cordelia Nwawe, who  disclosed this while addressing newsmen on the activities  of the command in Uyo on Tuesday, November 8th, said that the suspect lived in the same compound with the mother of the baby at Mbak Itam in Itu Local Government Area.  Ms Nwame said that the family unit of the command through intelligence trailed the suspect, rescued and reunited the baby with her mother."In November, the ACID Section through the Family Unit recorded a great feat by bringing back a one month and some few days old baby to her mother in Akwa Ibom. The suspect, who has been married for some years without a baby, left Lagos state to Uyo, stayed in a compound in Mbak Itam with the intention to steal a baby from her neighbour. The family unit through intelligence report was able to rescue the baby back to the mother,” Mani said.The baby’s mother, Fatima Ibrahim, said that the suspect was staying with them in the same compoun, adding that she “drugged” her to sleep before stealing her baby. In her confessional statement, Peace Chukwuemeka said she was married for 10 years and was desperate to have a baby but however, denied drugging before stealing the baby."I did not give anything to the mother, it was a coincident she was asleep and I seized that opportunity to take the baby. I have married for 10 years now so I needed a baby of my own. I took the baby to my mother in the village but she refused to collect her from me. So I came back to Akwa Ibom and the owner of the baby started asking me of her baby, so I was arrested,"  Chukwuemeka said.

70-year-old man arrested for allegedly raping 8-year-old deaf and dumb girl in Ogun state

70 year old Gabriel Akindele, pictured above has been arrested by men of the Ogun state police command for allegedly raping an eight year old deaf and dumb girl in a toilet at their 7, Michael Ayegusi Street, Owode Ijako in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. In a statement released by the state police command spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, the septuagenarian reportedly lured the young girl into the toilet where he had canal knowledge of her. The mother of the victim who noticed some funny movement in her daughter, used sign language to ask her what happened to her. The little girl then told her mum what transpired between her and the 70 year old man whom she refers to as Baba, in the toilet. “The girl informed her mother of the incident, which prompted the mother to report the matter to police. The DPO of Sango Ota, SP Akinsola Ogunwale, detailed detectives to the scene and the randy old man was subsequently arrested. On interrogation, he confessed to committing the crime. It was discovered that he lured the girl to the toilet, where he unlawfully had carnal knowledge of her. The commissioner of police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed that the case be transferred to the Anti-human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, CIID, for proper investigation.” Oyeyemi said in the statement Meanwhile the septuagenarian would soon be charged to court.

Suspected militants invade Lagos school,kidnap principal

Suspected militants armed with guns this morning invaded Igbo Nla Model College in Epe, Lagos, kidnapping the principal. The Nation reports that men of the Lagos state police command in search of the kidnappers. Lagos state has in recent times witnessed series of attacks from militants.

Two Nigeria men and a Cambodian woman arrested in Phnom Penh

Two Nigerian men and a Cambodian woman were arrested on Monday, October 4th, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia capital for defrauding victims of more than 10 thousand USD to buy chemical for money cleaning (Black money scam)  

Sex slave being auctioned by ISIS to Saudi Arabian buyers

A picture has been released by the Sun UK showing an ISIS sex slave allegedly being auctioned by the terror group to bidders in Saudi Arabia.

The horrifying discovery was revealed when a jihadi was killed while fighting at the town of Al-Shirqat, an ISIS stronghold taken over by the group two years ago.
Members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Units, a state-sponsored militia that helps fight ISIS recovered the Jihadist's mobile phone and found a picture of a sex slave market taken in Saudi Arabia. It comes as a surprise to the Western world, given that Saudi Arabia  is part of the international coalition fighting ISIS alongside the UK and US even though it's believed in some quarters that wealthy Saudis have sponsored the terror group for years.
A spokesman for the PMU told Sun Online:
“Our investigation officer was appalled at the set of images involving what we believe to be an Iraqi Yazidi (an ethnic minority in the region) woman taken as sex slave. Images were of the auction in Saudi Arabia of the woman and sexually explicit materials of the fighter and the woman in a hotel. Location data was observed on the image file as enabled by default on many smart phones. 
"Further images involved ISIS members in Iraqi areas occupied by ISIS including Mosul and Baiji which indicates this fighter has been with ISIS for a long period of time as Baiji was liberated by us months ago." 
We are engaging with our Yazidi members to find the family of the woman, location and health status," the spokesman added. We hope to liberate her and all Iraqi women taken as sexual slaves by ISIS within Iraq or outside of Iraq as their basic human rights are being denied. We cannot allow this, as the force dedicated to the defence of Iraqi citizens."

Source: Sun UK

Under-aged orpham allegedly raped and impregnated by an Alhaji in Sokoto state

A Nigerian journalist with DW Radio Service, Germany, Faruk Muhammad Yabo shared the sad story on Facebook:

"The story of this under-aged Maimuna an orphan of Birnin ruwa village in sokoto who was raped, impregnated and abandoned by one Alhaji Giwa of the same village as accused, is very touchy.
 Maimuna who is 8 month pregnant, has nobody to cater for her pregnancy in this very young age. She is now helpless her father died since, and the person accused of impregnating her denied before the upper sheri'a court in sokoto, but Maimuna insisted that Alhaji Giwa as accused, was the only one who impregnated her.  
The two witnesses from the same village have attested before the court that Alhaji Giwa even told them that he will take Maimuna to a specialist for abortion, but later changed his mind.
A child of a very poor family, Maimuna is in dare need of assistance from human right agencies because Alhaji the person accused of impregnating her already hired a lawyer for the case"

Two Boko Haram terrorists arrested in Maiduguri by CJTF confess to killing 35 people during the capture of Bama

Two Boko Haram members were captured by CJTF in Maiduguri. The suspects confessed to having killed 35 people during the capture of Bama in 2014.

The Islamist terror group seized Bama, the largest town in Borno State, after a fierce battle with the Nigerian Army. The Army initially repelled the attack but the group returned with reinforcements to seize the town. They travelled in armoured trucks and first took control of the military barracks.
Soldiers and residents reportedly fled on foot, many of them walking all the way to Maiduguri, the state capital.

The overall Forum Assistant Secretary of CJTF, Muazu Alhaji Misiya posted the photos today, September 11 and wrote:

"Boko haram are dangerous see this two boko haram from nguro Soye under bama local government we arrest them in inside Maiduguri. When they capturing Bama they kill 35 people. Small one he kill 32 and big one he kill 3 people. Even in maiduguri we have to put eyes pls"

Court sends four UNILAG students to prison over cult activities

Four undergraduates of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, identified as Raheem Yusuf, 21, Adedoyin Adeyemi Abraham, 24, Olanrewaju Idowu, 36, and Safraini Oluyemi Peters, 24, have been sent to jail by a magistrate court for their alleged involvement in cult activities within the school premises.

The Lagos state police command had arrested the students for allegedly being members of a secret cult known as Aloral Bucania.

The police during the arraignment of the students yesterday, informed the court that on August 4th at about 9am in Room 318, Biobaku Hall of the institution, the suspects had planned to carry out some cult activities that was likely to cause a breach of public peace.

Acting on a tipoff, the students were arrested and arraigned on a two count charge bordering on conspiracy to cause a breach of public peace and belonging to an unlawful and secret society.

They were docked before Chief Magistrate Oluwayemisi Adelaja on Charge No: D/45/2016. When the charges were read to them, they all pleaded not guilty. The Chief Magistrate, Oluwayemisi Adelaja granted the defendants N200, 000 bail with two sureties each in the like sum.

She ruled that the sureties must show evidence of three years’ tax payment to the Lagos State government, affidavit of livelihood and be residents of the state. She ordered that the students be remanded in prison custody until their bail conditions have been met.

She adjourned the case till September 26th for trial.

Hausa and Fulani crash in Lagos, 3 confirmed dead

Three persons have been confirmed dead in the Hausa/Fulani clash that happened at the Abbatoir area in Agege, Lagos state yesterday September 7th. According to eyewitnesses, trouble started two days ago when a Hausa girl was allegedly beaten up by a Fulani man without any cogent reason. The matter was reported to the Serikin Fulani in the area but he did not take any action to address the complains from the Hausa community who then took laws into their hands and attacked the Serikin's palace. The Fulani's decided to go on a reprisal attack yesterday September 7th.

Houses and cars were burnt during the attack. Officers of the Lagos state Rapid Response Squad were on hand to help maintain law and order.

Block moulders embark on strike action over increasing rate of cement, granite, other building materials

The National Association of Block molders of Nigeria yesterday began a five-day warning strike over the increasing price of building construction materials such as granite, cement and others. President of the association, Rasco Adebowale, says the strike action will among other things, afford them the opportunity to review the price of blocks to reflect the new prices of the building construction materials. 

According to the moulders, there have been a 50% increase in the price of raw materials they use in moulding blocks particularly cement which went from N1,600 to N2,300 last week. 

They say the price of cement is as high as N21,350 in some places that are not easily accessible.

'There is killing everyday. o saw a man kill an innocent boy for no reason ' - Nigerian migrant

Traumatized Nigerian migrant Lucky (Right) said he regularly witnessed many killing in Libya. The 20-year-old is one of more than 118,000 people to have made the perilous journey from Libya to Italy so far this year. Nearly 15,000 have been picked up off the coast of Libya since 28 August.
"It was a nightmare, " said Lucky. If many people knew what was going on there, they would not dare come"  This year alone, almost 3,000 have perished or been lost at sea. With so many arriving so quickly, southern Italy is feeling the pressure. At the port of Pozzallo in Sicily, a naval ship arrived carrying 700 men, women and children rescued from the Mediterranean Sea. If accepted, the interior ministry relocates people to various regions across Italy.
"There is killing everyday. I saw killing. I saw a man kill an innocent boy for no reason"
Lucky told us he did not mind where he was resettled in Europe.
"I'm a beggar, I don't have any choice. I just want protection. I just need freedom."
But for now, Lucky's new home is a tent at a migrant centre in Messina. With a European fleet of ships waiting to rescue migrants off the Libyan coast, some fear it has made life too easy for smugglers.
 
Source: BBC

54 year old female pastor arrested for operating underage prostitution cartel inside church in Ogun State

The Ogun state police command has arrested a 54 year old woman, Idowu Olupinla pictured right, for allegedly operating a prostitution cartel with teenagers aged between 14 to 19, right inside her Cherubim and Seraphim Church at Ijoko-Ota area of the state.

According to investigations by the police, the suspect harbors the young girls in the church premises and arranges for men to have sex with them for a fee.


Parading her before newsmen at the state police command in Abeokuta yesterday September 4th, the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ilyasu, said the young ladies who were found in the church premises have been taken to a hospital for medical examination.

One of the victims said many of the girls were from broken homes and sought a place to stay before they were lured into prostitution by the supposed pastor.

According to her, they sleep with men for N500 and give the prophetess N200 commission. The teenager said many of them have had multiple abortions so as to continue living in the church and that she has had 5 abortions.

“I lost my father and decided to stay with the prophetess, Idowu Olupinla, who always prophesied and prayed for me. She said that we should allow the boys who are members of the church who came for crusade to sleep with us in the church premises and pay us N500. So I have been staying with the prophetess for about one year and men have been having sex with us in the church premises, and I have done five abortions with the drug that the prophetess gave us. We are almost 10 girls staying in church of the prophetess as hostages until the police came to rescue us.” Denying the claims, the suspect said “I don’t know them. I have never been involved in anything of the sort they said. I never took any money from them. These are mere allegations against me. I am the founder of the church. All I know is that everybody is free to come and pray in my church and bring either the husband or wife along.” The police says he would soon be charged to court for human trafficking and child abuse.

Photo credit: Premium Times

Photographer who drugged and raped straight men after luring them to modelling shoots using social media is jailes for 11 years

43 year old  Nigel Wilkinson, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and three counts of administering a substance with intent to rape at Bristol Crown Court.  Wilkinson met his victims on the social network before inviting them to his home for ‘male fitness’ photoshoots. Once there he would ply them with drink and drugs - including class C date rape drugs Flunitrazepam also known as Rohypnol, and Nitrazepam which renders them “senseless and incapable”.

The court heard that he “liked to take the masculinity of straight men” and that his three victims had been left devastated by his crimes.
Detectives suspect the number of victims could run into double figures and said many could have been so heavily drugged they may not have realised what happened.
Sentencing Wilkinson, Judge Michael Longman said:

“You wanted to have sex with as many attractive men as possible. All the victims were much younger than you and entrusted themselves to you. You abused the trust they placed in you. The whole basis of their contact with you appears to be a lie.”The court heard that Wilkinson promoted himself as a male fitness photographer and last summer set up a respectable-looking online enterprise called WilkoPhotography.
He would search for victims on Instagram and invite them to his house in Bedminster, Bristol, under the pretence of putting together a modelling portfolio.

Police were investigating him for offences against a 19-year-old man from Kent when officers attended his home in April to arrest him and found a second victim, a 23-year-old from Gloucestershire, asleep on his sofa. Both had traces of sedatives in their systems.

The second victim had no knowledge of what had happened but described it as “the most disgusting thing an individual can do”.

During the investigation, police identified a third victim, a 19-year-old from Wiltshire, who was also found to have traces of sedatives in his system.
None of the victims had any memory of the acts committed on them.

During searches of the house police found photographs of a variety of males, some of who were naked, on his computer.

Virginia Cornwall, mitigating, admitted Wilkinson had a “reckless disregard” for the men for his own sexual gratification.

He had behaved in a “selfish, reckless and damaging” way at a time when he had lost his job and believed he was suffering a terminal illness, which was not the case, she added.
The former shop manager has now written a letter of apology to his victims, which “shows he has an understanding of the enormity of what he has done”, she claimed.

Police are continuing to investigate Wilkinson’s background and want to speak to anyone who may have had contact with him through photography or dating websites.

Detective Constable Stacey Matthews said: “Nigel Wilkinson promoted himself as a male fitness photographer and last summer set up an online enterprise called WilkoPhotography.

“He’d use social media to identify men he wanted to photograph and would invite them to Bristol for a photo shoot. The men would often stay at his home and throughout their visit he would ply them with alcoholic drinks, some of which were laced with sedatives. While they were in a drugged stage, Wilkinson’s predatory nature would prevail and he’d commit sexual acts on them without their consent. On the surface Nigel Wilkinson was a photographer in male fitness models. In private he was a cunning sexual offender who used his photography enterprise as a cover and catalyst for his deviant activities.”
Source: SunUK

Siasia's assistant, Monday Odigie's house burgled by robbers while he is at Rio 2016,certificates, Olympic medals stolen

Monday Odigie, assistant coach to Nigeria's Under-23 team coach Samson Siasia has revealed that his house along Benin/Sapele road was burgled while he was with the Olympic team working in Rio, and says only God can judge the perpetrators as valuables such as his Olympic and World Cup medals were stolen.

Odigie said the incident took place before the team’s opening game against Japan, but insists that would not weigh him down as he eyes success in Brazil.

“Armed Robbers went to burgle my house in Owanoba community kilometer 15 Benin/Sapele road and made away with plenty of my belongings, all my World Cups and Olympic medals, certificates and other valuables,” Odigie, the former coach of Kaduna United told Goal.com

"My house was bugled the day we played our first game against Japan on August 4th, 2016 to be precise.

“I have been trying to get over this while also trying to concentrate on the job here at the Olympics.

“It is very sad and discouraging to realise that while one is working out his heart out for his country in Brazil, one’s house is being robbed back home.

“I leave everything to God to judge everyone according to his deeds. This won’t deter me because I am focused and I am happy that members of the team are also focused to achieve something here.

“I didn’t want any distraction for the team that’s the reason why I kept the incident within me and members of the technical crew led before letting you know now.”

NDLEA parades 74 suspects with 391.26kg hard drugs in Kara state

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kwara state command, yesterday paraded 74 suspects that were arrested with 391.26 kilogramme of hard drugs from January to July this year.

Apeh Reuben who is the state NDLEA commander, said 62 of the suspects were males while 12 were females.

He disclosed that 14 of the suspects have been convicted by the state High Court, Ilorin on offences involving possession and smoking of hard drugs. Apeh said their sentences ranged from 12 months to eight years imprisonment.
“The drug situation in the state has turned to different dimension because they are very expensive. The addicts can no longer afford to buy the drug . Therefore, they engage in pilfering and armed robbery in order to meet up with the cost of maintaining their habit. This, of course, reveals that all drug users or consumers are potential armed robbers. Their inability to afford the cost of drug could make them robbers” he said.

Trafficking of Nigerian women into prostitution in Europe at crisis level - International Organisation for Migration

The trafficking of Nigerian women from Libya to Italy by boat is reaching “crisis” levels, with traffickers using migrant reception centres as holding pens for women who are then collected and forced into prostitution across Europe, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) warns.

According to IOM, about 3,600 Nigerian women arrived by boat into Italy in the first six months of this year, almost double the number who were registered in the same time period last year. More than 80% of these women will be trafficked into prostitution in Italy and across Europe, it says.

"What we have seen this year is a crisis, it is absolutely unprecedented and is the most significant increase in the number of Nigerian women arriving in Italy for 10 years," said Simona Moscarelli, anti-trafficking expert at the IOM.

"Our indicators are the majority of these women are being deliberately brought in for sexual exploitation purposes. There has been a big enhancement of criminal gangs and trafficking networks engaging in the sexual exploitation of younger and younger Nigerian girls."

Although a thriving sex trafficking industry has been operating between Nigeria and Italy for over three decades, there has been a marked increase in the numbers of unaccompanied Nigerian women arriving in Italy on migrant boats from Libya. In 2014, about 1,500 Nigerian women arrived by sea. In 2015 this figure had increased to 5,633.

"Already we have seen nearly 4,000 women come in the first six months of this year. We are expecting the numbers to have increased again by the end of this year." said Moscarelli.

She warned that the current policy of placing Nigerian women in reception centres along with thousands of other migrants was playing to the traffickers’ advantage, with women regularly going missing.

"There is little understanding of the dynamics and nature of this form of trafficking,” said Moscarelli. "The reception centres are not good places for trafficked women. Just last week six girls went missing from a reception centre in Sicily, they were just picked up in a car and driven away."

Nigerian women who are entering Italy among migrants on boats from Libya should be immediately identified and treated as trafficking victims. Instead of being processed in reception centres, they should be placed in specialist shelters where they can be given the advice and support needed to break the chain of sexual exploitation, she said.

"Most Nigerian women who arrive in Italy are already victims of trafficking, many have been subjected to serious sexual exploitation on their journey. Many are forced into prostitution in Libya," said Moscarelli.

"The women we are seeing are increasingly young, many are unaccompanied minors when they arrive and the violence and exploitation they face when they are under the control of these gangs is getting worse. They are really treated like slaves."

Salvatore Vella, the deputy chief prosecutor in Agrigento, Sicily, who led the first significant investigation of Nigerian trafficking rings in Italy in 2014, said that the reception centres are increasingly being used as pick-up points by those intending to exploit Nigerian women.The Nigerian women are given a phone number when they leave Nigeria, which they use to inform a contact in Italy that they have arrived

"The mobsters just come to the camp and pick [women] up. As easy as going to a grocery store. That’s what these women are treated like, objects to trade, buy, exploit and resell and the reception centres are acting as a sort of warehouse where these girls are temporarily stocked. They wait until the woman has her residence permit or refugee status document and then they just go and pick her up."

Many Nigerian women arrive in Italy with debts of about £40,000 for their journey from Nigeria to Italy, which they are expected to pay back. Nigerian trafficking gangs use a toxic mix of false promises of legitimate employment and traditional “juju” ceremonies to recruit and gain psychological control over their victims.

The women are led to believe that terrible things will happen to their families if they fail to honour their debts. They are then forced into prostitution on streets and brothels across Europe.

"Currently the shelters and services we have for those women we manage to identify are at breaking point," said Moscarelli. "We must give police prosecutors the financial resources to tackle the traffickers and improve access to legal services if we have any chance of reducing the numbers coming in."

Source: IOM/ The Guardian UK