Christian Segun Owanebi a Burkina Faso based , and Ariwayo Oloyede Destiny, a former police officer, were both sentenced to prison for human trafficking by the Federal High Court of Lagos.
Owanebi was given a seven-year prison term, and Destiny received a one-year prison term from Justice Abimbola Awogboro.
The three-count conspiracy and human trafficking accusation against them was upheld by the judge, who then handed down the punishment.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons brought Destiny, of Block 337, Flat 2, Ilasan Estate, Lekki, Lagos, and Owanebi, whose address was listed as Pagilaidi, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, before the court (NAPTIP).
Sometime in 2014, they were charged before Justice Saliu Saidu, who is since retired.
The duo was accused of conspiring to procure a 19-year-old woman “Onyinyechi” for prostitution in Burkina Faso.
NAPTIP called the victim and an investigation officer as witnesses during the convictions’ trial. It also submitted a number of exhibits.
The victim, who had previously worked as a maid in the 1004 Estate on Victoria Island in Lagos, described how the inmates persuaded her to become a prostitute by promising her better opportunities in Burkina Faso.
She said: “I was working as a maid in Ajah before I was approached by Ariwayo who promised to secure a job for me as a supermarket attendant at Burkina Faso.
“He charged me N200,000, for travel arrangements and to secure the job, but promised to reduce the money to N150,000, if I allowed him to have sex with me, which I agreed to.
“I did not tell my mother before we embarked on the journey to Burkina Faso. My handset was seized from me and on getting to Burkina Faso, I was handed over to a woman called Eunice, who is also a commercial sex worker.
“My new mistress later assigned me to a hotel, where I normally resumed by 6pm and closed by midnight. She also prepared me for the job by giving me lectures on how to attract customers.
“I normally slept with an average of 10 to 12 men every day and realised 85,000, CFA every day.”
She also informed the court that Christian, who resides in Burkina Faso with his wife, informed her that he was returning to Nigeria after a week.
He handed her his phone because hers had been taken away as she waited to pay back her debt. She then requested that Christian take some money to her mother, who resides on Oke-Ode Street in Lagos.
Christian, according to her, promised to give her a call so she could talk to her mother in Lagos.
The victim continued, “Before I left Lagos, the two prisoners had me swear an oath that if I told anyone, the god of iron should kill me.” She added that they used palm oil, iron rods, red strips of fabric, a razor, and a razorblade to draw blood from her hand and also to pull strands of her hair. She said that a herbalist administered the oath.
She explained to the judge how she finally worked up the confidence to tell her mother the truth over the phone, adding that her mother afterwards alerted the police, who then detained Christian and his accomplice.
Later, NAPTIP took over the case and helped arrange for the woman’s return to Nigeria.
The charges violated sections 15a and 16 of the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003, according to prosecution attorney Chinedu Akaegbu, who testified before the court.
The pair entered a not guilty plea and were granted release under different conditions.
They were re-arraigned before Justice Awogboro during the trial.
Justice Awogboro’s ruling on Friday stated that the prosecution has established the charges against the two defendants beyond a reasonable doubt.
In addition, the judge declared their defense to be an afterthought and found them guilty on all charges.
First-time offender Owanebi was sentenced to seven years in jail on all counts by Justice Awogboro, who noted that he had skipped bail.
She gave the former police officer, who had been appearing in court without missing a beat, a one-year prison term on each count.
The judge decided that the jail terms should begin on Friday and run consecutively.
