Index to Nigerian Newspapers

The Becheve tribe in Cross River State has an odd practice where girls, sometimes as young as four years old, are used as collateral for loans their parents obtain from more illustrious kinsmen. Victims of the practice include Beatrice Okumo, Jennifer Abega, and Beatrice Okumo. Beatrice was given as collateral for a sum they borrowed from her creditor, Papa, who was then 50 years old and much older than her father. Jennifer ran away from slavery when she was 10, but her uncle resisted her attempt to freedom and told her mother to either return her to the creditor or repay his debt.