Nigerian sex workers remanded in Ghana over human trafficking charges

Three Nigerian commercial sex workers have been remanded into custody by an Accra Circuit Court for human trafficking. The three Joy Gimbia Cataima, Juliet Nnaj and Happiness Augustine Williams pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy and human trafficking.

A fourth accused Collins Oppong Bempong has also been charged with abetment but denied the charge.

A bail application by lawyers for the accused persons was refused by the Presiding Judge, Afia Owusuaa Appiah.

The Prosecutor, Chief Inspector Amoah said the four accused persons are residents of Lapaz in Accra.

He said last September 1, the three Nigerians allegedly conspired to lure young girls from Nigeria to the streets of Accra to enslave them into prostitution and take the proceeds from the unlawful act.

They allegedly conspired to get the girls under the pretext of securing jobs for them as sales girls in a shop owned by two of the accused persons.

Chief Inspector Amoah said the first accused person, Joy paid an amount of 240 thousand Naira equivalent to 5,732 cedis to the third accused Williams who trafficked two teenagers from Nigeria to Ghana under the pretext of working in the cosmetics shop.

The Prosecutor said the victims were handed over to the first and second accused persons who informed them that they would engage in prostitution and not as sales girls as they were made to believe.

Oppong Bempong is alleged to have threatened the victims and made them swear an oath to pay two thousand cedis each to the first and second accused persons before they would be set free.

Chief Inspector Amoah said last September 3, at about 4:30 am one of the victims escaped and met some members of Baptist Church on an evangelism mission and informed them of her predicament.

Following investigations, the four accused persons were arrested.

They claimed that the other victim had already been transported back to Nigeria.

The Judge directed the prosecution to file all disclosures and witness statements within time and adjourned the case to October 18, 2022.