Spanish
authorities have arrested 6 Nigerians suspected of smuggling Nigerian women
into Spain and forcing them into prostitution by using threats including claims
they would cast voodoo spells on them.
In a
statement released on Sunday, Spanish police said the six, including the
suspected female ringleader, were nabbed as part of an investigation launched
last year after one of the prostitutes filed a complaint with the authorities.
“The
control exercised over women was total, involving verbal threats as well as
physical violence and various voodoo ceremonies to terrorise them,” police said
in a statement.
“The ring
caused them serious injury through bites or by using an iron to cause
second-degree burns.”
The
practice of using voodoo threats to coerce young ladies into prostitution
outside Nigeria is not new.
In
December 2012, Spain’s Interior Ministry said 16 Nigeria nationals were
arrested for similar offences, following an investigation by the police when it
was discovered that 10 women were smuggled into the country on a small boat.
In 2010, a
Dutch court jailed Doris A, Kenneth Ajibayo, and Anthony B for their
involvement in an international prostitution ring which used voodoo to threaten
victims. The three were Nigerians.
A recent
release by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science noted that
several trafficking sentences in Europe describe how Nigerian women undergo
magical rituals where they commit themselves to pay a debt to those who help
get them to Europe lest dark forces maim or kill them and their family members.
The report
quoted aid lawyer, Silje Stenvaag, as saying: “I think I’ve only met one woman
who was not bound by a voodoo oath. It is through such agreements the
facilitators manage to keep control of them from a distance.”
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