In new reports, over 20,000 Nigerian girls are trapped in Mali as sex slaves.

A report by Al Jazeera News reveals and confirms a “collusion between Malian law enforcement and traffickers is hampering rescue efforts”.

The sex trade business is reported to be flourishing in the country because it benefits many influential people, also making it difficult for the girls to escape.

The victims are reportedly forced to have sex with up to ten men a day.

The report also revealed that a Nigerian government agency has been making moves to get freedom for the victims. Some of them were captured in a documentary looking helpless with their situation.

According to an anti-human trafficking activist, Prosper Michael, in a clip shared on Al Jazeera’s Twitter account on Thursday, the efforts made so far to stop the crime has been lacking the desired impact because many are gaining from the problem.

Nigeria is struggling to rescue ~20,000 girls forced into prostitution in Mali – due to corruption. pic.twitter.com/vJ49n84Z49

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 7, 2019

In a situation where there are a lot of beneficiaries in a crime, it is very very difficult to eradicate it.

The people you think you can call to come and rescue these girls are benefiting every week, says Michael while sharing the experience so far.

There are also reports of intimidation of Nigerians who have attempted to deliver the women from captors who promised them a means of living but never delivered on their vow. Those who attempted a rescue were reportedly forced to leave the vicinity where the girls are being held.

Kunle Akerele, aka Kunle Poly, the 29-year-old leader of an armed robbery gang, has revealed why his gang cut off three fingers of a man at Aboru, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, during a robbery operation.

According to him, he and his accomplices chopped off the man’s fingers for refusing to hand over his gold-plated wedding ring when they asked him to do so.

The suspect, when paraded alongside five of his gang members, said: “We were not wicked when we started but the people made us to become wicked. Victims were always deceiving us that they had no money at home.

Our anger was that when we knocked on people’s doors, they would hide their expensive phones and give us the less expensive ones. One day, my second-in-command suggested that we should start teaching them lessons so that others would learn from them.

So we bought sharp cutlasses which we began using in severing stubborn victims’ hands. On January 13 this year, we raided the Aboru community because we were cash-strapped.

We were surprised that each house we entered they would bring small Nokia phones as if they planned it. We were surprised when we entered one big man’s house who parked posh cars in front of his compound.

We requested for phones but he gave us small phones. We saw the expensive wedding ring on his finger. But he was behaving as if it was too difficult for him to remove.

So Tunde said we should cut off his three fingers and remove the ring. And we did. Immediately the wife saw what happened, she quickly removed her own. .

When we saw how the game worked out well for us, we went back to the other victims that had given us small phones and gave them machete cuts on their hands, fingers or wrists, and continued like that in other houses.

Those who gave us big phones and laptops were spared. We cut off over 20 people’s wrists that day. We did it so that the news would spread and when we come the next time, people would bring out their money quickly.

How could it be said that people no longer use expensive phones? Those who dared us regretted their actions.”

This is so sad…

A Nigerian journalist, Adaagbaga Minda was killed in a auto accident on Tuesday night, March 5, which also happened to be the third anniversary of his younger sister’s death.

On Tuesday morning, 15 hours before he died, Minda took to Facebook to mark the anniversary of his sister’s death.

He wrote;

“Today mark exactly three years of your departure in this sinful world. May your soul continue to rest with the lord. My dear little Sister”

Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Ilorin High court in Kwara state, yesterday March 7th, sentenced a notorious armed robber, Olatunji Ibrahim Ariyo, and his cohorts to death by hanging.

Ariyo, who is notorious in the state capital for his nefarious activities, was sentenced alongside Ganiyu Sulyman Yaro, Timothy Oyebanji, Lukman Olateju Sanda and Akeem Olayinka who is dead.

While delivering judgement, Justice Akinpelu said the convicts were tried on a six-count charge of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, causing mischief by fire and theft contrary to Section 6 (b) and 1 (2) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and sections 337 and 286 of the Penal Code.

The court held that, on April 25, 2015, the convicts committed the said offences at Agbarere, Ilorin.

“Each of the convicts is sentenced to imprisonment for a term of two years and the sum of N25,000 is imposed as fine on each of them on count five for causing mischief by fire.

“Each of the convicts is sentenced to death to be executed pursuant to Robbery and Firearms Act on count one, two, three and four for the offences of criminal conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery, respectively,” the judge said

According to the proof of evidence, Ariyo, with his gang, invaded the homes of no fewer than eight families in Ilorin metropolis to carry out robbery attacks.

Among the victims of the attacks was Abdulateef Baanu of Agbarere area of Ilorin, who testified before the court that the accused persons set his house ablaze after removing some items.

“My building is a four-bedroom flat, which I used N5 million to build; other buildings within the community were burnt too. The group of these miscreants were armed with guns, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons,” the proof of evidence revealed.