A 26-year-old Ebonyi State lady, Chinaza Nwaezere, battling goitre (thyroid enlargement) decided to go into sex work to raise the money for her surgery after two failed businesses in Enugu State. She tells how life has been for her caring for her sick father and six younger siblings with the proceeds from the ‘business’ and why she wants to quit

Where are you from?

My name is Chinaza Nwaezere. I am 26 years old. I am from Abakiliki Local Government Area in Ebonyi State.

Did you go to school?

No, I did not finish secondary school. In fact, I stopped in JSS 1. I could not further my education because it was the period my mother died, and she was the breadwinner of the family.

What year was this?

This was in 2014.

Where is your dad?

My dad is alive, but my mother was the one taking care of the family.

How has life been since your mother’s passing?

Hmm… Life has been hard since she passed, especially as my dad is not really doing his work as a father. Everything is left for me and my siblings to hustle to make ends meet. We are just trying to survive.

When you said your father is not doing enough as a father, what did you mean?

My father is not capable of taking care of us.

Is he sick? 

Yes, he is sick. He has been sick for many years, long before my mother’s demise. He has a heart condition, and because of that, he doesn’t do any hard work. He is just always at home because the doctors were very clear when they told him that he must avoid anything that would be classified as hard work. So, it has been me and my siblings struggling for the family.

We came together and gathered some money and opened a foodstuff business for him. That is what he does in Enugu. Although the business is very small and barely makes any profit, at least, my father can come out, interact with people, and make some sales so he will not just be lonely at home. He has been doing this business for a few years.

How many siblings do you have?

We are eight children. I am the second child. I have seven other siblings. Our last child should be around 11 years or so and he is still in school.

You mentioned you have an elder sister; where is she?

She is in Enugu. She is married with kids. She is a fashion designer. The burden of taking care of the family falls squarely on both our shoulders. My dad particularly relies on me so much and I have to do anything I have to do to provide, and all this was part of the reason I started sex work. My dad believed that, even if my siblings would not be able to give him any money for upkeep, I should be able to give him. We are really close.

How have you been able to live up to this responsibility?

Hmmm… It has not been easy. I was into food business. I sold food by the roadside in Enugu, but the business was not going as planned. It was not yielding much profit because the weight of the entire family was on it. It was from that business I took care of seven of my siblings and my father as well. The business collapsed before it even started. I also tried to do baking but it was not profitable to me. The money I was getting was not enough to take care of myself and my family.

It was around that period of my confusion that I was introduced to the ‘hustle’. I started hustling.

What do you mean by ‘hustling’? 

I started hookup (sex work) in Enugu but had to relocate to Asaba, Delta State. I didn’t work for up to one week before I relocated to Asaba.

Why?

It was someone who told me to move to Asaba. She said the business there would be more profitable than Enugu. I also wasn’t feeling okay there, because that is where my family is based. I was staying with my dad and had to lie to him every night and I didn’t like it. I had to just decide to either stop it and return to poverty or move to Asaba and make some money.

I had to lie to my dad that I had a job in Asaba. He was so happy. He told me to kneel and he prayed for me before I left. He doesn’t really know what I am doing there.

What year exactly did you move to Asaba?

I moved in January 2024. I have only been in Asaba for four months.

How much have you made in four months?

The thing is that it is not every day I normally go out for this kind of stuff. There is also an issue of police clampdown. They are everywhere here, disturbing us. I had to stop for a while because of the police palaver. They are really disturbing girls here. I was squatting with a friend of mine here but she drove me out of the house, saying that she couldn’t accommodate me if I was not bringing money into the house for some basic things. I became homeless for a while before I got to the place where I am squatting now. I pay N11,000 here every week.

In a month, I may hustle for just two weeks. The money that I get, I will try to save. The money that they are paying me here is not even big.

How much do you charge for your services?

I can tell a man that a night with me is N30,000. They will beat it down to around N10,000. If it is okay by me, I will go with the man.

What is the highest that you have been paid in a night?

The highest? I don’t know. If it is someone that I have looked at from afar and weighed his pocket, I can demand N50,000 or N40,000, and they may beat it down to N30,000 which is my regular charge. But, it is not that simple.

At what point did you notice that you had goitre?

It started developing in my body in 2022. I just woke up and noticed I had a swelling. I thought it was just neck pain or sore throat. I went to a pharmacy and got medication for a case of sore throat. But, it kept growing bigger. I carried it for the entire year and even into 2023. It was in 2023 that the pain became unbearable as the swelling got really bigger. It has been weighing me down. This is the major thing that made me say I must take it out.

It is really disturbing me. It is giving me reactions in my body.

Have you gone to the hospital?

Yes, I have. I did that in 2023. When I got there, the nurses said I would have to see the doctor. That day, I was unable to see the doctor because the crowd was too large. I had to leave. It was the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. But, the thing normally itches me on my skin. Sometimes, it will itch me and I will have to scratch my body even in public. It makes me so uncomfortable. It has also made me develop a difficulty in breathing.

How have you managed to do your sex work in this condition?

It is not really an easy thing for me. Most times, people don’t know I am sick. If I come out at night for my work, some guys will see me and ask me what happened to my eyeballs. My eyeballs are almost popping out of their sockets because of this goitre. If I tell them, they will just give me some money and go and carry someone else. But, some of them may not look at me very well and they will carry me. When I get to the hotel room, the pain in my neck will be much but I have no choice.

Once I lie down with it to start the job, I always feel excruciating pain, but I just deal with it. I brace up and focus on the money I am going to be paid, knowing that, once I gather enough money, I will stop the work. I have just been managing because nobody will feed me.

Sometimes, when the guys in the hotel room notice that I have a swollen neck, they will ask me what the problem is and they’d just give me some money and not touch me. Most of them are afraid that I may have some disease that they may contract. Some are also scared to touch me so I don’t die in their eyes.

How much did the doctors say it will cost to treat you?

Before I relocated to Asaba this January, I went to a private clinic in Enugu, and the doctor, after many tests, said it was a surgery that I required and that it would cost N700,000. This was earlier in the year, and I don’t know if this has increased. I also went to the hospital two days ago to see a doctor and he has done some scans on my neck, and gave me some medication to be taking while waiting for the test results. They said it will go on Monday, they will tell us the next thing to do.

Are your family members aware that this is the kind of work you do to bring in money for their upkeep?

My father and younger siblings are not aware. My elder sister is aware. She has not told me directly that she knows but I know she does. She is a lady, she knows ‘what’s up’. She knows I don’t have any job I am doing so there is no way I will be bringing in money if it is not through sex work. There are some things she tells me that make me really sad.

What do you want Nigerians to do in this matter?

God really knows my heart that this is not what I wish to do with my life. I want to become healthy and go back to my food business and baking. There is no day that I don’t use to pray for God to forgive me and send my destiny helper for me. God finally did it for me when I met this content creator, Comicmiss2, who interviewed me and published it on her Facebook page.

I remember that one prophet came to me when I was waiting for a customer one day and told me that if I didn’t stop this work, I would die untimely from it. I told him that I would not die because God knows it is not my wish or intention to do this work. This is why when most guys carry me, after giving me the money, they will take it and run away.

Are you promising that if the surgery is done, you will not go back to the streets again?

I am promising the whole world that once the surgery is done and I come out, I will quit prostitution. I have even quit since my story went viral and donations started pouring in. There is no gain in this business. No gain at all. I know many girls who have lost their lives on this job.

Doesn’t it scare you sometimes that you may end up dead like one of these girls you speak of?

It does, but what do I do? Life itself is a risk. I have had many bad experiences myself but I am glad I have not lost my life. Some men will carry me, and when I get to the hotel room, they will have sex with me and beat me up after that. Some will even beat me during intercourse because it is the way they enjoy it. Or, is the ones that will sleep with me and still do me fake transfer? More than once, guys have carried me and done fake transfers for me after everything.

One time, one guy carried me and paid me N25,000. While I was sleeping, he opened my purse and stole the money. So, he slept with me and still stole from me. Some will even beat you and collect the money back. Where do I even start? The street is a mixed breed. You will meet good people and bad people. Some people will just give me money and leave the hotel room for me. They will not even touch me.

Most of the girls doing this sex work have stories to tell. None of them likes what they are doing. They have killed many many girls on these streets. Many have gone missing, but God is still keeping me alive. God knows I want to stop it. I would not want my children to go into this business. It is not a good thing. “Hook-up” is not a good thing. Many people are doing it for a reason. I know how many times I have escaped kidnappers and ritualists.

Can you remember any particular incident?

No, I cannot. I don’t want to talk about that.

What advice do you have for people who feel ‘hook-up’ is the only answer?

I pray that God should have mercy on them. There is no life in this business. There is no gain at all. The best option is to quit. The money got from ‘hook-up’ is not good money; it disappears mysteriously. Whatever money they have made from the business, they should use it to do something for themselves. For how long do they want to continue doing it before they settle down? By that time, no man will even talk to you about marriage.

So, that means you still dream of a day when a man would propose marriage to you?

Of course, yes. Yes! I want to get married like other ladies outside there. Most girls get married on these streets. Most prostitutes get their husbands here. Good men! But, I won’t get my own husband from the streets. I want a god-fearing man. I have left ‘hook-up’ totally and god will give me my own good man.

Stole from community to buy arms

The goals of Correctional centres, otherwise known as Prison , are to strike a balance between punishment, rehabilitation and public safety while preparing inmates for a productive life after release.

However, in Nigeria , these goals have suffered severe set back as most inmates rather than being transformed into a better version of themselves, return back to the society hardened than they were before going to jail.

This was the case of a suspected leader of a kidnap gang arrested by the Rivers State Police Command under the watch of CP Olatunji Disu.

The suspect, Gift Ogbo (39), who is receiving treatment in the hospital, from injuries sustained during a botched kidnap operation , disclosed that he formed his gang while serving his 11 years jail term for a murder case.

Ogbo, who said he had never been to a classroom since birth, recalled how he roamed his village in Ndele, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, during school hours, searching for opportunities to pilfer.

Due to his alleged villainous disposition, he was nick named ‘Akwa Ndele’, with parts of his body designed with bold scars .

Arrest

Saturday Vanguard gathered that on March 29, 2024, Ogbo, led three members of his gang on a kidnap mission, in their operational tricycle, on Nkpolu road.

They reportedly intercepted a white Mercedes-Benz ML 350 4matic , parked on the road, with two occupants in the driver and passenger seats. 

But in an act of bravery, driver of the Mercedes who attempted to reverse and escape, hit a wall .
He reportedly drove menacingly towards two suspected members of the gang that stood in front of the car ,and ran over them.

The two suspects were

Ogbo and another member identified simply as Oyi-Baba, who were the gang’s muscle men. They were abandoned at the scene by their fleeing colleagues.

A mob was said to have descended on them and was at the verge of setting them ablaze when a Rapid Response Team that was contacted arrived the scene.

While Oyi-Baba reportedly died in the hospital, Ogbo , is still undergoing treatment, according to Police sources.

Prison gang

From the hospital bed, Ogbo, said, “ In 2012, I attacked one of my uncles during an argument over a parcel of land and he died in the process. 

I was arrested and charged for murder. While serving my 11 years hail term, I made friends with some inmates.

“Upon my release in December 2023, I returned to Ndele and rallied two old friends, Gift Kpanuku, aka Oyi-Baba and one Sunny, aka Onye-meme.

”We teamed up with two released members of the gang I formed in prison: Isaac and Ugo and immediately devised a plan to start a kidnap-for-ransom gang.

“ We stole from residents of Ndele to raise money for arms. We raised 370,000 and used it to purchase two locally made shot guns in Akwa-Ibom from Smart, a gunrunner I also met in prison.

Operations

“ We went on the first mission on March 13, 2024, at about 8.45 p.m. We snatched a red Mazda 323 from a local taxi driver to use as operational vehicle. On that same evening, we met a man and his wife who parked their car in front of a doctor’s office at Nkpolu. We ordered them out of their Volkswagen Touareg, pushed them into the back seat of the car and drove off with them, abandoning the stolen Mazda.

“ But on the way to our hideout, there was traffic .While contemplating an alternative route, the woman jumped out of the car. In anger, I shot her husband in both thighs, and we sped off.
We took him to a compound in Eleme, took his gold chain, gold wristwatch , his phone and wife’s phone which she left . We used his ATM card to withdraw N530, 000, via