A 19-year-old indigene of Plateau State, Sarah Ayuba, who was trafficked to Ghana to engage in prostitution by her wicked ‘madam’ in conjunction with her own aunt has cried out for help to come back home.

Sarah who confided in an undercover Nigerian journalist at a brothel in Osu area of Accra, said she and other young girls were forced into the illicit trade by the woman whom she referred to as Madam Gold.

In her narrative, Sarah said she had never envisaged ever going into prostitution but was tricked into it and now, she is seeking help to come back and start her life again.

“My name is Sarah Ayuba, I am 19 years old from Plateau State in Nigeria,” she began.

“I am seeking help to return home and start life all over again because this is not the kind of life I planned for myself. I was tricked to come to Ghana by Madam Gold and my aunt with the promise of a job in a big supermarket but when we got here, Madam Gold forced me into prostitution and made me swear an oath in a shrine.

“While growing up, I wanted to be a nurse and after my secondary school in 2020, I sat for the entrance examination of the school of nursing in Jos but even before the result came out, I lost my parents who were killed by Fulani herdsmen in an attack on our village.

“After the burial of my parents, life looked very bleak for me and my four siblings and there was no way I could go to school. After about six months in the village with nothing to do, one of my aunts in Lagos came home and proposed taking me to Lagos with the promise of sponsoring me through nursing school.

“I was so happy at the opportunity of pursuing my dreams and without thinking twice, I accepted to go with her to Lagos, not knowing that it would be the biggest mistake I ever made on life.

“On getting to Lagos, I realised that my aunt was not what she claimed to be. Instead of the big lady with a big restaurant she often told us, it turned out that she ran a small beer parlour in a police barracks in Ikeja and was also a runs girl. She lived in a small one-room apartment with three other ladies who were all doing runs.

“I was not very comfortable with the situation but there was nothing I could do as I had no where else to go to. They tried everything possible to get me to join them in the business but I refused, which got my aunt angry and she suddenly developed serious hatred for me.

“One day, she came home with Madam Gold and told me the woman had a big supermarket in Ghana and would take me there to work as a sales girl. I was initially sceptical but she convinced me that it was the best for me and that I can go to a nursing school in Ghana while working as Madam Gold’s sales girl.

“A few weeks later, all arrangements were made and we left for Ghana, the second mistake of my life.

“When we got here, everything changed as Madam Gold first took me to a shrine where they forced me to swear to an oath that I would not betray her or I will die. I did not know why the oath was necessary as I had no intention of betraying her.

“The next day, she took me to a brothel and told me I would work as a prostitute and pay her a certain amount of money at the end of every day. I tried to protest and asked her about the supermarket but she just laughed and told me the brothel was the supermarket. She also told me she had paid my aunt a huge sum of money to buy me.

“When I tried to protest, she and two other Nigerian ladies descended on me and beat me mercilessly. After the severe beating and threats, I had no option but to do as they demanded.

“I have been here for eight months but I am depressed and may end up killing myself. I have tried to run away on two occasions but the security men here would always catch me and report me to Madam Gold who will come with her girls to beat me up.

“Please sir, kindly help me and get me out of this place. I want to go back home and make something out of my life. Prostitution is not my calling. Please anyone out there who can help should come to my aid before I kill myself.”