By Our Reporter A young Nigerian woman’s routine journey from Port Harcourt to Benin Republic reportedly descended into four days of horror...
By Our Reporter
A young Nigerian woman’s routine journey from Port Harcourt to Benin Republic reportedly descended into four days of horror after officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service at the Akere checkpoint in Badagry, Lagos State, allegedly detained her and subjected her to repeated sexual abuse.
Ben Bright Friday, a 21 year old from Akwa Ibom State, told the Foundation for Investigative Journalism FIJ that she was intercepted by immigration officers on Friday January 16 2025 and unlawfully held until Monday, during which time an officer identified as Makama allegedly beat, intimidated and raped her multiple times.
According to FIJ, an independent check later traced the phone number used by the officer to the name Isa Makama on Truecaller, confirming the identity earlier provided by sources familiar with the checkpoint.
Recounting her ordeal, Friday said she had travelled from Port Harcourt to Lagos with plans to board a boat to Porto Novo in Benin Republic. After passing through two immigration checkpoints without trouble, she said her bus was stopped at a third post in Akere, Badagry, where officers ordered her and another female passenger to step down.
She explained that Makama took her into his office, asked for her name and age and accused her of lying when she said she was 21.
What followed, she said, was a violent interrogation marked by beatings, forced nudity and s€xual assault.
Friday narrated that Makama flogged and slapped her, even as some of his colleagues pleaded with him to stop. She said she was forced to expose her body while being questioned about her destination and business, and her goods were brought in and searched.
Despite providing explanations about travelling to see her aunt in Porto Novo for foodstuff trade, Friday said the officer remained hostile and later detained her.
She alleged that on the first night of her detention, after other officers left the office area, Makama ordered her to bathe and then raped her, warning her not to tell anyone.
“He told me thank you after he was done and said I should not let the others know,” she said.
The young woman said the abuse continued throughout Saturday and Sunday, with Makama repeatedly forcing himself on her and threatening torture whenever she resisted.
She further claimed that another officer, who noticed her distress, advised her to pretend she was on her menstrual period whenever Makama wanted sex, suggesting the abuse was known among officers at the post.
In a desperate attempt to stop the assaults, Friday said she cut her palm with a razor blade, smeared blood on a sanitary pad and wore it. Even then, she alleged Makama insisted on sex, using condoms and ignoring her pleas.
By Monday morning, she said Makama handed her over to a man identified as Obi, described as his agent or messenger, who took her to Panshi, where she stayed for two days before being returned to Mile 2 in Lagos.
Friday also alleged that immigration officers confiscated her phone and the foodstuffs she was travelling with, forcing her phone into flight mode and preventing her from contacting her family. She said her bags were still being held, with demands for money before their release.
She added that Obi later bought her a new phone with a SIM card already inserted, through which she eventually spoke with her brother, who had been searching for her after days of silence.
When contacted by FIJ, Makama denied the allegations, claiming he was being blackmailed by traffickers angered by his work.
“I am the officer in charge of the Akere Immigration control post,” he said in a WhatsApp message sent around 1:15 am on Sunday. “I rescue victims of trafficking and reunite them with their parents. That girl was a trafficking victim, and I have her interrogation with me. There was nothing like that.”
He added that he worked alongside other security agencies and conducted interrogations with video evidence.
As of press time, the Nigeria Immigration Service Public Relations Office in Abuja had not responded to FIJ’s request for comments on the allegations of unlawful detention, assault and rape.
The disturbing account has sparked renewed outrage over abuse of power at security checkpoints and raised urgent questions about accountability within the nation’s border control agencies.
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