A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Thursday, June 9, sentenced a 27-year-old woman, Blessing Oamen Aka ‘Omons’ to 4 years and 5 years imprisonment for trafficking three young Nigerian women into Benin Republic and forcing them into prostitution.
Omons, who was brought before the court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), was convicted on a total of 6 count charges for actions contravening sections 15(b) and section 18 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) and Administration Act 2015.
Omons in 2019 lured three young women from Kaduna to Bavilaji in Benin Republic with the promise of a job.
However, on arrival in Bavilaji (Benin Republic) she cut their hair and finger nails; ingredients for an oath of obedience she administered on them with the help of a ‘herbalist’ and placed a target of one million cefa each for the girls to gain their freedom. She proceeded to arrange for clients who paid her first before being given access to the girls.
Reports indicate that the girls had paid Omons 540,000 cefa each within two months before her luck ran out as her premises was raided by the Benin Republic police and she was arrested and handed over to Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Seme Border Command alongside the three young women she had deceived.
NIS in turn, promptly transferred the case to NAPTIP Lagos Command on the 1st of November, 2019.
Omons sentence of 4 and 5 years respectively are to run concurrently.
