Enugu cracks down on child prostitution, rescues 114 girls from hotels

…as group tasks FG, State Govt on Ngwo Borstal Institute rehabilitation

Apparently disturbed by increasing child prostitution in the State, the Enugu State Government through the State Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Taskforce, has cracked down on child prostitutes, rescuing 114 teenagers from hotels in Enugu.

Besides, the Enugu State Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Taskforce has called on the Federal and Enugu State Governments to urgently rehabilitate the long-abandoned Borstal Training Institute in Ngwo.

Speaking on the development in Enugu, Ikechukwu Nwaogu, Executive Director of the Economic and Social Empowerment of Rural Communities (ESERC), disclosed that a recent joint operation by the Taskforce from the Ministry of Children and Gender Affairs, and the Nigeria Police, led to the rescue of 114 girls from three hotels in the State, where they were allegedly being used for prostitution.

While speaking peaking at Press Conference in Enugu to mark the 2026 International Women’s Day celebration, he lamented that the absence of a functional rehabilitation facility in Enugu is worsening the crisis of juvenile justice and adolescent exploitation in the region.

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He said that the State is witnessing a disturbing rise in cases of sexual exploitation involving minors.

He also decried the absence of a functional rehabilitation facility in the South-East, which he claimed, forcing authorities to release many of the rescued girls, leaving them vulnerable to returning to the same exploitative environments.

“Despite the successful rescue operation, the lack of a rehabilitation centre in the region meant that many of the girls had to be released, and some may likely return to the same conditions from which they were rescued,” Nwaogu said.

He also expressed concern over a growing trend of juvenile-related offences, including cases of sexual violence perpetrated by boys under the age of 18 who currently have no structured reformatory institution for correction and rehabilitation.

The Taskforce therefore appealed to the Government to look into the Borstal Training Institute in Ngwo, established in 1932 to serve the South-East and South-South Regions, which has been abandoned and dilapidated since the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, while similar institutions in Ilorin, Kaduna and Abeokuta are still operational.

The Ngwo Borstal Institute, according to him, remains in ruins, creating a significant gap in the juvenile justice system across the two geopolitical zones.

He stressed that rehabilitating the facility, would provide a controlled environment, where young offenders could receive formal education, vocational training and psychosocial support.

The taskforce, which was inaugurated in December 2025, through a partnership between ESERC and the Enugu State Government with support from the French Embassy Fund, said it had made notable progress in addressing domestic and sexual violence in the State.

Data presented at the briefing revealed that 1,086 gender-based violence cases had been reported within just over three months.

The taskforce currently receives an average of 20 new cases daily, a development attributed to increased public confidence in reporting mechanisms and improved collaboration among law enforcement agencies, legal practitioners and healthcare providers.

“So far, the joint efforts have resulted in 218 arrests by the Nigeria Police Force. Of these, 32 cases are currently before the courts, while 18 suspects have been remanded at the Enugu State Correctional Centre.

“Beyond prosecution, the taskforce has also provided pro bono legal services to survivors and facilitated medical treatment for 46 victims, including the payment of emergency hospital bills and transportation support for court appearances”, he noted.