A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, sentenced three women to 41 years imprisonment for trafficking in persons.
The convicts are Precious Owoh, a.k.a. Ejiro, 32; Blessing Gabriel, 28, a.k.a. Precious, and Rose Gabriel, 28. The three convicts were given the jail terms, by Justice Babs Kuewumi, after pronouncing them guilty of charges levelled against them by National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP.
The three convicts, who are residents of 15, Adewunmi Adeogesun Street, Ajah, Camp 4, Block 10, Room 7, Ojo Military Cantonment, Ojo, all in Lagos State, were arraigned before the court sometime in October 2015, on a four-count charge bordering on recruiting, trafficking, exporting, promoting and facilitating the prostitution of one Udeogu Ann Ugochi, 27, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
They were said to have committed the act with one Otubo Nicole, who is said to be at large, between October 2014 and July 2015. During their trial, the prosecution had called four witnesses, the victim, Udeogu Ann Ugochi, and three intelligence officers of the agency.
The victim, during the trial, told the court how she was contacted by the third convict, at the instance of the second convict, who linked her up with the first convict, who she said had contacted the second convict to recruit her for the illicit profession. Pronouncing judgment, Justice Kuewumi said: “The first and second convicts are hereby sentenced to two years in count one, and five years in count two, three and four.
“The third convict is hereby sentenced to two and five years on count one and two only.” Justice Kuewumi, however, awarded N250,000 for count one and N1 million as the option for count two, three and four, for each of the convicts. The judge also ordered that the jail terms are to run concurrently.
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