Police Arrests Man and His Accomplice for Reportedly Turning 23-year-old Job Seeker into a Commercial Sex Worker in Lagos

Grace Edet and Victor Obano

Victor Obano, a hotelier in Lagos and his suspected accomplice, Grace Edet, a commercial sex worker, have been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly turning a 23-year-old female job seeker into a commercial sex worker in the Ijegun area of the state.

According to PUNCH, Obano, who owns Tisa Hotel, reportedly brought the victim from Akwa Ibom and promised her employment in Lagos. He allegedly turned the victim into a commercial sex worker in the hotel, using Edet as her supervisor.

On October 5, the victim, who is a mother of two, called her elder sister saying she was tired of being a commercial sex worker.

Her sister reportedly informed the police at the Anti-Robbery Squad of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, leading to Obano’s arrest.

Speaking to PUNCH, Obano said:

I am the manager of Tisa Hotel in the Ijegun waterside. I am not a human trafficker. It was only this lady that I brought from the village. I met with her father and he explained her predicament. She is 23 years old. She has two kids and she was living a miserable life. So, I decided to get a job for her.

The police arrested me because I seized her phones. They said I did not want her to contact her family members, but I collected her phone because I did not want her to have an affair with several men.

It was her elder sister who reported the matter to the police. The victim is with her brother presently. The arrangement was that I would be paying her and she would also hustle in the hotel and send the money to take care of her father.

The police should let this matter be settled amicably. It is a family issue.

Edet told PUNCH that Obano had contracted her to train the victim in commercial sex.

“I have worked in the hotel for some years. I am a commercial sex worker. When the manager came back from Akwa Ibom earlier in the year, he returned with the lady. He handed her over to me, saying I should teach her some tricks of the trade.

I did not know the arrangement between them. When I asked the lady why she was brought, she replied that she was asked to hustle at the hotel. So, I do not have any fault in the matter,” Edet said.

According to a police source, Obano has more girls he uses as commercial sex workers in his hotel.

Photo Credit: PUNCH