Court Jails Nigerian Hairdresser 7years For Trafficking Girls Into Prostitution

An Accra Circuit Court on Tuesday sentenced Ella Peters a 29-year-old Nigerian hairdresser who trafficked two girls to Ghana to engage in prostitution to 7years imprisonment.

Ella charged with human trafficking had pleaded guilty and the court presided over by Rita Abrokwah Doko convicted her on her own plea but deferred sentence to April 9.

The court ordered the destruction of condoms and panties among others retrieved from the convict by the Police in the presence of the Court’s Registrar.

Earlier, the Prosecution led by Chief Inspector Grace Bandoh narrated that on June 22, last year, the Adenta Police gathered intelligence that Ella had recruited and transported some Nigerian ladies into Ghana for sexual exploitation.

Chief Inspector Bandoh said based on the said intelligence, a team from the Adenta Police Command embarked on an operation and rescued a 16-year-old native of Abarikpo from River State and a 17-year-old native from Owere from Imo state.

Prosecution said Ella was also arrested and during investigations, it came to light that she recruited the victims in May last year to Ghana to come and work in her boutique and a tailoring shop.

The prosecution said, however, on reaching Accra, Ella engaged them into prostitution and compelled them to make daily sales of GHC150.00 each.

She said further investigations indicated that Ella used a blade to inflict marks on the faces of the victims and used their blood for ritual purposes to scare them not to fail in the payment of their daily sales.

Prosecution said the 16-year-old failed to produce her daily sales and Ella tortured her with a heated knife leaving marks and burn wounds on her two shoulders and right ankle before the rescue.

—GNA