Food vendor jailed seven years over human trafficking, prostitution
The Accra Circuit Court Four has sentenced a food vendor to seven years’ imprisonment in hard labour for human trafficking and prostitution.
A food vendor from Togo, identified as Gift Chinyere Aminu, has been sentenced to seven years of hard labor imprisonment by Accra Circuit Court Four. Gift, also known as Joy, is accused of human trafficking and prostitution. Despite denying the charges during the trial, the court found her guilty after a thorough investigation.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Issah Achiburi presented the facts to the court. The case was initiated when the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters received a case docket from the Kaneshie Police Station. The victims, Jennifer Izi and Aissah Mohammed, both Nigerians, were brought before the unit.
According to the prosecution, Gift Aminu had a prior relationship with the victims. She informed them of their forced entry into prostitution in Togo, subjecting them to severe beatings when they refused to engage in the act. Izi had alerted her friend ThankGod Iheme, a Nigerian resident in Accra, about the situation. Upon receiving the case, Gift Aminu was re-arrested, and during interrogation, she admitted to knowing the victims.
Gift Aminu claimed that she resided in Rafineri, a suburb of Lome, Togo, where she worked as a prostitute. She stated that Izi and Mohammed were brought from Jennifer and Blessing to engage in prostitution, manage them, and transfer the proceeds to Jennifer and Blessing. Upon her arrest, Gift Aminu allegedly forced the victims to swear an oath that if they attempted to escape, they would become insane.
Further investigations revealed that Gift Aminu had relocated to Ghana with the victims after a police-led operation in Togo. In Ghana, Izi discovered she was pregnant and informed Gift Aminu, who provided her with abortifacient medication. It was also discovered that Gift Aminu had collected 300,000.00 Naira from Mohammed and 250,000.00 Naira from Izi as proceeds from their prostitution activities.
Following these findings, Gift Aminu was charged and proceeded to court. The court, presided over by Madam Lawrencia Awura Abena Darkowaa Gyamfi, also ordered Gift Aminu to compensate her victims.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
