Some commercial sex workers in Benin, Edo State, on Wednesday alleged that the  Edo State Migration Agency extorted money from them.

The sex workers were arrested on Monday night during a raid by officials of the agency in a bid to rid the state of commercial sex workers and drug traffickers.

They were reportedly captured on camera, profiled at the agency and later released.

However, the sex workers, on Wednesday, said that they were extorted between the sum of N15,000 and N50,000 after they were released.

They also claimed that they were promised that their video wouldn’t be posted on the internet, but were shocked that their videos were shared on social media without their faces covered.

The sex workers showed evidence of receipts of the payment to one  Uyinmwen Uyigue.

One of the sex workers said, “I am still in shock. I couldn’t get myself since last Thursday. Edo State Migration Agency recorded us with a promise not to post the video after collecting N50,000 each, but they went ahead to post it.

“I have proof of money paid through POS to them. I was shocked when friends and family members started calling me, that they saw my video on TikTok and Instagram.”

Another said, “On Friday evening, all these Migration people raided us at Ihama Street and arrested 30 of us. They detained us at their office and captured us in a video with a promise not to publish it after we paid N50,000 each.

“The next thing my family members saw it and they started calling me. My family said I brought shame to them and that they don’t want to have anything to do with me because of the video”.

When contacted, a member of the GRA Hospitality Forum, Uyigue, confirmed collecting money from four sex workers, but he said the money was fine paid by the owners of the lodge where the sex workers stay and not for the agency.

He said the lodge owners, under the auspices of the GRA Hospitality Forum, agreed on a fine of N50,000 for any of their girls caught in the street hawking sex.

He said, “Activities of drug dealers have been a stigma to our businesses. We met with the Migration Agency, and they proved to us they meant business.

“We met as an association and decided that any lodge owner whose girl is caught outside will pay a fine of N50,000.

“The money those arrested girls paid was fine for the lodge and not to the Migration Agency.”

Director General of the Migration Agency, Lucky Agazuma, said the agency was well funded and would not resort to extorting money from sex workers.

Agazuma said the agency’s aim is to rehabilitate them (the sex workers) back into society.

“We have had several engagements with the brotheliers. We told them we will not be after their brothel, but they should not bring underage girls into their brothel.

“In our raids, we discovered that they kept underage girls. Those persons who were involved in this act are in prison, including the native doctor who administered the oath to them.

“They also do organ harvesting. Even as I speak to you now, there’s a husband and a wife who just trafficked a little girl to Mali. They are in detention right now.”