Spanish prosecutors allege a Nigerian woman was forced to swear a juju oath in Morocco before being taken by boat to Spain and compelled into prostitution, in a trafficking case due to go before a Málaga court this week.
Five defendants are scheduled to stand trial on June 24 and 25 over the alleged sexual exploitation of two Nigerian women. Prosecutors are seeking 17 years in prison for each accused and €25,000 in compensation for each woman.
According to the prosecution, one of the victims was required to take what is known as a juju oath, a ritual practice used in parts of West Africa, particularly Nigeria, in which a person swears to fulfil an obligation using personal items such as hair or nails, often before a traditional priest or intermediary.
Researchers and anti-trafficking organisations have documented the use of this practice by Nigerian trafficking networks as a means of control. Prosecutors argue that while the oath may not be presented as coercive at the moment it is taken, it creates a powerful psychological constraint.
Victims may believe that breaking it will result in serious harm to themselves or their families, reinforcing compliance even when physical supervision is limited.
Prosecutors say the oath is part of a broader system of control. It is allegedly combined with fabricated debts linked to transport costs, threats of violence, and pressure involving family members in Nigeria to maintain compliance across borders and over long periods.
Some women are aware before departure that they will be expected to repay their journey through sex work, while others only discover this once they are already in transit or after arriving in Europe.
Prosecutors say the woman had been promised work or training as a hairdresser in Spain. After arriving, she allegedly refused to enter prostitution because she believed the job offer was genuine. She was then beaten and forced to work shifts of more than 10 hours,.
The alleged network was based in Málaga but had connections in Nigeria, Morocco, Denmark and Germany. Prosecutors say its members divided responsibility for recruiting women, arranging travel, housing them and collecting their earnings.
The U.S. State Department’s 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report placed Morocco on Tier 2, noting that foreign trafficking victims, particularly among sub-Saharan migrants, remained vulnerable to penalisation for immigration-related offences, which can deter reporting.
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