Patience Gbeze, GNA
Accra, June 4, GNA -A Nigerian trader, Ada Peace, has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for human trafficking and immigration offences.
The conviction follows an intelligence-led operation by the GIS Asankragwa Sector Command that rescued two victims, aged 21 and 13, from exploitation.
Presenting the case before the Court, the prosecutor, Chief Superintendent of Immigration (CSI) John Bernard Otoo, revealed that the victims were lured from Nigeria under false promises of shop attendant jobs in Ghana, but were instead forced into prostitution while the convict appropriated the proceeds.
Investigations by the GIS Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons (AHSTIP) Section established that the victims were recruited through accomplices in Nigeria, transported into Ghana, and received by the convict at a brothel in Adaase, near Asankragwa.
According to an official statement copied the Ghana News Agency, they were subjected to spiritual intimidation and coerced into commercial sex work to repay debts amounting to six million Nigerian Naira.
The prosecution further revealed that Ada Peace and her accomplice, Rejoice Opara, entered Ghana illegally through unapproved border routes in July 2024 and had resided in the country without permits.
While Peace faced four charges including human trafficking and illegal entry, Opara was fined and discharged.
Mr Samuel Basintale Amadu, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, strongly condemned human trafficking, sexual exploitation and illegal migration.
He stressed that offenders will be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted, warning that state security agencies will not tolerate exploitation of vulnerable persons or breaches of immigration laws.
The Service, however, urged the public to remain vigilant, noting that traffickers often use deceptive tactics such as recruitment via social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook, false promises of employment or travel opportunities, and demands for upfront payments by self-styled “travel agents.”
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah