The police said Obano, who runs Tisa Hotel, allegedly lured the lady, Elizabeth, from Akwa Ibom, promising her employment in Lagos.
Obano allegedly thereafter turned her into a s*x worker in his hotel.
According to Punch, Elizabeth, a mother of two, got tired of being a commercial s*x worker, and on October 5, told her elder sister on the telephone what she was going through in the hotel.
The sister informed the police at the Anti-Robbery Squad of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID), Yaba, leading to Mr. Obano’s arrest.
Another lady, a commercial s*x worker, identified as Grace Edet, who's Elizabeth’s supervisor, was also picked up by the police.
Speaking with Punch at the command headquarters, Ikeja, Mr Obano, who admitted to have brought the lady from Akwa Ibom, said he only assisted her to find a means of livelihood.
He said, “I am the manager of Tisa Hotel in the Ijegun waterside. I am not a human trafficker. It was only this lady that I brought from the village. I met with her father and he explained her predicament. She is 23 years old. She has two kids and she was living a miserable life. So, I decided to get a job for her.
“The police arrested me because I seized her phones. They said I did not want her to contact her family members, but I collected her phone because I did not want her to have an affair with several men.
“It was her elder sister who reported the matter to the police. The victim is with her brother presently. The arrangement was that I would be paying her and she would also hustle in the hotel and send the money to take care of her father.
“The police should let this matter be settled amicably. It is a family issue.”
The accomplice Edet said that Obano had instructed her to train Elizabeth in commercial s*x.
She said, “I have worked in the hotel for some years. I am a commercial s*x worker. When manager came back from Akwa Ibom earlier in the year, he returned with the lady. He handed her over to me, saying I should teach her some tricks of the trade.
“I did not know the arrangement between them. When I asked the lady why she was brought, she replied that she was asked to hustle at the hotel. So, I do not have any fault in the matter.”
A police source said Obano allegedly had more girls he used as commercial s*x workers in his hotel.
The Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspects, said the command would not tolerate any form of crime, in the guise of trying to assist someone.
The accomplice Edet said that Obano had instructed her to train Elizabeth in commercial s*x.
She said, “I have worked in the hotel for some years. I am a commercial s*x worker. When manager came back from Akwa Ibom earlier in the year, he returned with the lady. He handed her over to me, saying I should teach her some tricks of the trade.
“I did not know the arrangement between them. When I asked the lady why she was brought, she replied that she was asked to hustle at the hotel. So, I do not have any fault in the matter.”
A police source said Obano allegedly had more girls he used as commercial s*x workers in his hotel.
The Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspects, said the command would not tolerate any form of crime, in the guise of trying to assist someone.
