Court jails woman for exploiting, trafficking lady to Libya

Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a woman, Chinyere Zainab Raman to 10 years in prison for exploitation and trafficking a lady (names withheld) to Libya for prostitution.

The court which sat on Friday found the woman guilty of the charges preferred against her.

The defendant was brought before the court in 2019 by the operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP.

The convict was accused of buying the victim, for the sum of 300,000 Linya dinars (D300,000) from one Cameroonian said to be at large, for the purpose of subjecting her to exploitation and prostitution.

She was arrested on February 22, 2019, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, when she returned from Libya.

Following her arrest, she pleaded not guilty to a two count-charge of engaging in human trafficking and promoting prostitution.

The offences contravened Sections 18 and 21 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 and were punishable under the same section of the Act.

Specifically, Section 21 criminalises all forms of buying and selling of children.

Following the denial of the offences, the prosecution opened its case against her and called witnesses and tendered several exhibits. But the convict was the only person who testified in her defence.

However, the trial judge held that the prosecution has successfully proved the two counts charge against the convict, beyond every reasonable doubt.

Thereafter, Justice Awogboro sentenced the convict to five years on each of the counts.

The judge however ordered that the jail term should run concurrently and to commence from February 22, 2019, when the convict was arrested.