6th November, 2019
Twenty-four alleged members of a trafficking ring accused of forcing Nigerian women into prostitution in France went on trial Wednesday in Lyon.
Those on trial include a Nigerian pastor, Stanley Omoregie accused of being the ring leader, and Jessica Edosomwan, a woman suspected of recruiting Nigerian women as prostitutes in Lyon and two other French cities. She is on the run and has been declared wanted by Europol. She is being tried in absentia.
Only one of the 17 alleged victims was present for the first appearance of the accused in the court in the southeastern city of Lyon — 10 women and 14 men. In a further clarification, only one of the 24 charged is not a Nigerian.
They risk 10 years’ imprisonment on charges including human trafficking, pimping, money laundering and helping people live illegally in France.
Prosecutors say the 17 alleged victims earned about $160,000 per month for their masters selling cheap sex. Most came from the same area — Benin City in southern Nigeria, a pattern seen in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, experts say. 
“It’s a business and there is money … and Nigerians at the moment are one of the most efficient traffickers,” said Helene de Rugy, a senior member of French NGO L’Amicale du Nid, which joined the prostitutes as a plaintiff in the case.
Most of the sex workers stayed away from the trial for fear of reprisals — something de Rugy said happened last year during a similar sex trial in Lyon.
Police say Nigerians make up a large portion of France’s prostitute population. De Rugy says it reflects a wider European phenomenon, although it’s hard to put exact figures to its size.
Nigeria was the main country of origin for the tens of thousands of migrants who arrived in Italy by boat in 2016 and 2017.
Many were women and girls lured to Europe with false promises of jobs as hairdressers or seamstresses, only to find themselves selling sex to repay their smugglers.
Nigerians outnumber Chinese or Eastern European sex workers on the streets of France and some other European countries.
Last year, 15 members of a Paris-based, female-led pimping ring known as the “Authentic Sisters” — many themselves former trafficking victims — were jailed for up to 11 years for forcing girls into slavery in France.
Similar gangs have been dismantled in Italy and Britain.
The investigation in Lyon, where police estimate half the city’s sex workers are Nigerian, began after authorities received a tip-off about a Nigerian pastor accused of exploiting sex workers who lived in apartments he owned.