It is estimated there are between 10,000 - 20,000 Nigerian prostitutes working in Italy today. Almost all come from Edo state in southern Nigeria. As yet, no research has been done into why so many come from this one state, but the route may have originally been established by Nigerian women who came over to southern Italy to harvest tomatoes during the 1980s. But it's often not until they arrive in Italy that they are told that they will have to prostitute themselves in order to pay off the debt.