Human trafficking; Court sentences unemployed

Mine Victor, 32, an unemployed Nigerian, has been sentenced to jail for five years for receiving and transporting two Nigerian teenagers from Madina, in Accra to Hohoe for sexual exploitation.

Victor pleaded guilty with an explanation, but her explanation could not exonerate her culpability of the charge.

The court presided over by Mr. Michael Johnson Abbey in passing the sentence, said the court considered that the accused was a first-time offender and said the sentence should serve as deterrent to others, who would like to commit a similar offence.

The court also ordered that the convict be deported to Nigeria after serving her sentence, while the teenagers be handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service to be repatriated to their home country.

Inspector Rachel Osei Agyapomaa, Prosecutor, told the court that the complainants were Police officers from the Hohoe Divisional Night Patrol Team, while the second accused person popularly known as Cash, who is at large, is a Nigerian now based in Madina, Accra and the convict stayed in the same neighbourhood.

She said about two weeks ago, there was a conversation between one Miracle, a brother of Cash with the victim, an 18-year-old Nigerian national, who was a dancer and a friend to Miracle.

Inspector Agyapomaa said Miracle revealed to the victim that he had a sister in Ghana, who was a dancer and needed people like her to do a dancing and music business with and the victim expressed interest.

She said Miracle informed Cash about his conversation with the victim, who agreed to sponsor the transportation of the victim, adding that the victim also informed her 19-year-old friend of the trip, who also agreed to come along.

Inspector Agyapomaa said about weeks ago, Cash sponsored the victims’ journey to Ghana precisely Madina in Accra, where she stayed.

She said when the victims arrived in Ghana, Cash told them that they were in Ghana to engage in commercial sex business instead of the music and dance business.

Inspector Agyapomaa said the victims had no choice than to give in to the proposal and on October 8, Cash transferred the two victims to the convict to be brought to Hohoe, where she thought the business would be booming.

She said the convict brought the victims and all were lodging in a guest house adding that on October 10, the convict escorted the victims against their will to go and service men sexually for money.

Inspector Agyapomaa said the Police, same day, had a tip-off about the work of the victim, arrested her and sent her to the Police station and rescued the victims.

She said the convict in her caution statement, admitted that she brought the victims to Hohoe for sexual exploitation.