a Nigerian pimping network tried in Marseille
Thirteen defendants, eight men and five women are tried in correctional, some for aggravated procuring and trafficking in human beings and others for assistance to stay or irregular treatment of the proceeds of a crime or an offense.
Black magic, madam “Mamas” and young Africans on the streets of Marseille: the presumed members of a Nigerian pimping network appear before the Marseille court for the trafficking of young women escorted from Africa to France to prostitute themselves .
To attract customers, they call themselves “Beauty”, “Joy” or even “Glory”. Born in Nigeria, they dreamed of a better life in Europe but ended up scraping on the streets of Marseille to repay the debt for their trip, between 40,000 and 60,000 euros.
Despite the beatings, the rapes, the threats to their life and that of their family, some dared to break the silence. They are now civil parties in the trial of their torturers, with the Action Team against Pimping (EACP) and the Amicale du Nid, two associations for the defense of prostitutes.
Thirteen defendants
Thirteen defendants, eight men and five women – “mamas” according to the nickname given to pimp women by African prostitutes – are tried in correctional. Some for aggravated procuring and trafficking in human beings, others for assistance with illegal residence or laundering of the proceeds of a crime or an offense. They encourage ten years in prison.
Considered the central figure of the network, which he disputes, there is a couple: Tony Osemiwigie, 27, and Vera Okoro, 32. Inmates, they are the only ones in the box.
The other defendants, in the room with lawyers, are tried for procuring, as smugglers, for helping to cross borders or providing false papers, or, for one of them, for money laundering. money from prostitution.
From Nigeria to Marseille
The case began on February 6, 2017 with information to the border police denouncing the activities of a certain “Mister Tony”. The facts will be supported by surveillance, eavesdropping and testimonies from prostitutes.
From Benin City, Nigeria, to Marseille, many girls have followed a marked route: passage through Libya, perilous crossing to Italy, during some some have died, stays in refugee camps, then train to France, where they applied for refugee status.
Of the twenty or so prostitutes interviewed, most denied any coercion. But some have dared to tell their story made of violence but also of fears in the face of the evil power of an African ritual.
“If I speak, I will die”
Odion Omorogbe, known as “Tassy”, had met Tony in Nigeria when she had just left school. He suggests that she come to work as a hairdresser in Marseille, but asks her to see a “sorcerer doctor” who is supposed to be in touch with the spirits beforehand.
“This man made a few marks on my body. He asked me to put my hands on the ‘Juju’, a kind of red clay statue with white marks. He then asked me to jürer not. tell the police about Tony when I am in Europe. If I did, I would die from Juju, the same if I became friends with a white person. I had to say I was instead of my own free will. Whatever Tony ask me, I had to obey “, she had told during the instruction.
“The man then formed a ball with hair from my head, hair from my penis, hair under my arms and nail clippings. He took a naked picture of me and said he would use it all to kill me if I disobeyed, “she added, adding that the tattoos on her body were meant to drive her mad from a distance if she disobeyed Tony.”
At first, Tassy refused to prostitute himself. “I was then subjected to violence. (…) They even put chili powder in my vagina. It was Tony and Vera and friends of theirs who did that,” she reported.
The trial is scheduled to last until the end of the week.