An FIJ investigation has revealed how technology, social media platforms, and coded online groups are fueling Nigeria’s booming digital sex trade, exposing women and minors to exploitation, abuse, and trafficking.
An investigation by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has uncovered how technology is accelerating Nigeria’s digital sex trade, with apps, pimps, and algorithms enabling the expansion of an unregulated industry that exposes women and minors to exploitation.
The report, published on August 30, highlights the experiences of women like Ngozi, a 38-year-old bar worker in Ibadan who turned to online sex work after financial hardship derailed her education. “I only wanted to do it for a few months to raise enough funds for further studies, but here I am 14 years later,” she said.
From Facebook chats to WhatsApp groups and TikTok livestreams, transactional sex is being disguised as lifestyle while thriving on coded jargon, encrypted messaging, and digital payment systems.
Pimps such as Akin, who began during the COVID-19 lockdown, admitted to connecting women to wealthy clients discreetly, taking cuts from fees. Others, like Michael Adeola, once ran large WhatsApp TV hookup networks with hundreds of members.
Even more alarming, FIJ documented minors being advertised in WhatsApp groups. In one case, an admin named Chibese Ilado reposted child pornography while offering teenagers for “hook-ups,” violating Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act.
On TikTok, the “Decimal Point” challenge encourages young women to expose themselves during livestreams in exchange for virtual gifts worth less than one US dollar. Despite platform rules, the trend has gained traction, sometimes with endorsement from influencers.
Experts warn the trade is driven by poverty and unemployment, with over 106 million Nigerians living on less than $2.15 per day. “People are selling their souls for TikTok coins,” said digital safety advocate Chioma Chukwuemeka, stressing the need for digital literacy to curb exploitation.
The investigation underscores how Nigeria’s worsening economic crisis and weak online regulation are pushing many into survival sex work—often at the cost of safety, dignity, and life.