A collaborative effort involving the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar and a Senegalese NGO has led to the rescue of 24 Nigerian girls from s*xual exploitation in the Tamaccounda and Kedougou regions of Senegal.

The collaborative effort successfully freed the girls from their exploitative situation.

The acting Ambassador of the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, Salihu Abubakar, revealed the details to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday.

According to him, the victims, mostly girls and women aged between 11 and 24, but predominantly underage girls, were trafficked to Senegal through Cotonou, Benin Republic, via the Mali-Senegal border for s*xual exploitation.

"These girls and many more are being trafficked to Senegal through Cotonou, Benin Republic via Mali to the Senegal border for prostitution," Abubakar explained.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the majority of the girls and women were school dropouts from Edo and Delta states, with a few others from Imo, Abia, and two from Plateau. Abubakar confirmed that out of the 24 girls and women, 22 had been repatriated weeks earlier, while the remaining two returned safely to Nigeria on Saturday.

The health status of the victims and details regarding the duration of their exploitation remain undisclosed. However, the diplomat emphasised that the successful repatriation highlights the strong international cooperation between the embassy and the NGO, "Free the Slaves" (La Lumiere in French), in combating human trafficking.

"Our main goal and number one priority is to discourage the trafficking of our Nigerian girls to any part of the world for prostitution under any guise," Abubakar said.