A terrifying true story: Oloture
TRAFFICKING: 10 000-30 000 NIGERIAN WOMEN IN EUROPE Sometimes investigative journalists become the story – director.
Oloture is the hero of a Netflix drama, a journalist who infiltrates a prostitution ring, but in real life, Tobore, who inspired the film, is a shadow of her former self.
Clad soberly in a chequered knee-length dress, Tobore Ovuorie, pictured, hardly seems someone who once walked the streets of Lagos in a revealing outfit and high heels.
A freelance reporter with a burning desire to uncover the truth about a sordid backstreet trade, Ovuorie dressed as streetwalker to infiltrate a prostitution ring.
She took on this dangerous mission after a friend left for Europe, became a sex worker and died, leaving her shocked and beset with questions.
Today, Ovuorie’s remarkable story has been turned into a hit Netflix film, Oloture, which has put one of Nigeria’s darkest trades in the spotlight.
“I needed to do justice, to know the truth. I wanted to know the process, the back story about these ladies,” the 39-year-old reporter said.
By dressing up, she sought to gain the prostitutes’ trust – the first step to introducing her to a “madam”, a pimp.
After eight months working undercover in 2013, Ovuorie emerged with a terrifying account about the victims of sex trafficking.
Some were sent to Europe, where they were coerced into becoming sex workers. Others were forced to participate in orgies organised by local politicians. Some became victims of organ trafficking for ritual crimes.
She published her story in 2014 in the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times and Dutch investigative magazine, Zam Chronicles, inspiring a production company in Nigeria to adapt it for the screen.
Released in October on Netflix, the story has been widely watched and applauded in its home country, Africa’s most populous market.
“Sometimes investigative journalists in search of the story become the story,” director Kenneth Gyang said.
But in this case, the reporter was also “the torch that led us into the lives” of victims, he said.
Sex trafficking is rife in Nigeria, in particular in southern Benin City, a recruiting ground for criminal gangs who smuggle women to Europe.
How many are trafficked is unknown but in Italy, authorities say that between 10 000 and 30 000 Nigerians are prostitutes.
Several thousand others are stuck in Libya or other African countries, often exploited by criminals who make them believe they will one day reach Europe.
In the film, a journalist named Oloture heads to neighbouring Benin with a dozen other girls. From there, their “madam” promises they will depart to Europe in exchange for money (up to about R1.2 million) they will have to repay once they arrive in Italy. Very quickly, the journey turns sour.
On social media, the movie – and its ending – have triggered passionate debate.
“For most of these ladies there is never any light at the end of the tunnel,” said Gyang.
Ovuorie said what she saw and experienced still haunts her. She is trying to find the women she was meant to go to Europe with, and tell their stories.
Her work has inflicted a heavy emotional cost, she said. “I’m a shadow of myself, I try to smile, to look bright, but most of the time it’s just me fighting to hold on to life.”