A 21-year-old lady has been arrested in Makurdi, Benue State, after allegedly attempting to recruit young girls for trafficking to Mali for prostitution.
According to reports by anti-human trafficking activist Zege’Orkwande Sughnen Yaaya, the suspect, identified as Etah Jennifer from Cross River State, is a Mali returnee.
In a video making rounds on social media, she had previously travelled to Mali after her secondary school education in 2023. She worked under a superior (madam) in the sex trade, and reportedly settled her debt with 1.5 million CFA before returning to Nigeria. 
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Jennifer was then said to have come to Makurdi specifically to recruit Benue girls for the same purpose. She explained in the video that she got back to Nigeria and while she was learning, a lady reached out to her in need of girls who want “to travel outside the country.”
Yaaya stated that Jennifer was detained and handed over to the Benue State Police Command, Makurdi B Division.
This comes days after a viral video emerged of another Nigerian lady trafficked to Mali for prostitution. In the video, she appealed to the Nigerian government to rescue her and other victims.
Human trafficking of young Nigerian women and girls to West African countries, particularly Mali, for sexual exploitation has been a persistent problem.
Benue State has featured repeatedly in such cases, with activists and agencies like the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) frequently intervening in rescue operations and prosecutions.
Returnees who later become recruiters are a known pattern in these networks.
This incident on human trafficking to Mali is still developing. Police have taken the suspect into custody, and further details on the number of intended victims, any accomplices, or formal charges are expected as the investigation proceeds.
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