Chinoso Okonkwo |
The police in Lagos State
have arrested a 32-year-old woman, Chinoso Okonkwo, for allegedly using pupils
of some secondary schools in the Ikate, Surulere area, as commercial sex
workers.
PUNCH
Metro report continues:
Correspondent learnt that Okonkwo was arrested on Wednesday after residents gave
the police a tip-off that some teenage schoolgirls were being taken to a hotel
in the area – Sunderland Hotel – for sex during school hours.
Okonkwo allegedly worked with a syndicate which
usually went to the school to lure the victims out during school hours.
The
girls reportedly always removed their school uniforms and put on clothes
provided by the syndicate.
It
was learnt that Okonkwo also allegedly posed as a nurse to deceive her
victims.
The
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspect,
said investigation was ongoing into the matter.
He
said, “Detectives arrested her on Wednesday. Her mode of operation is to target
some secondary schools in the area. She, together with her cohorts, would go to
the schools and get the girls to a hotel. The hotel is located in Ikate,
Surulere. She would change their clothes and use them as sex slaves.
“She
would keep the girls in the hotel until the school closing time and make them
change back into their uniforms. Investigation is still ongoing, and we will
extend it to the hotel and the schools which are involved. We want to see
whether there is connivance between the suspect and the school authorities.”
Speaking
with reporters, Okonkwo, a mother of two, said she was based in Port
Harcourt, Rivers State, where she worked as a trader.
She
added that she sometimes came to Lagos to work as a sex worker.
Okonkwo,
however, denied knowing any of the schoolgirls, saying she only worked in the
hotel as a commercial sex worker to raise money for her business in Port
Harcourt.
She
said, “I am a widow with two children. They are both in a boarding school in
Port Harcourt. I live in Port Harcourt, but I sometimes come to Lagos to sleep
with men at the hotel. I came to Lagos to find a means of livelihood.
“I
use Sunderland Hotel in Surulere. When I was arrested by the police, I saw
three girls, probably aged 10 or 12, who claimed I usually picked them from
school to the hotel.
“I don’t know any of them. In fact, let the police visit the hotel for investigation. I have never seen them before. I meet men for sex and they give me money. I use the money to buy clothes and take them to Port Harcourt to sell. I have been in this job for a long time. I am a familiar face at the hotel. I do this for a living.”
No comments:
Post a Comment