A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has sentenced a 70-year-old woman, Paulina John, to 12 months imprisonment for human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The convict, who hails from Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was arraigned by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for procuring a 15-year-old girl for exploitative prostitution, an offence punishable under Section 15(a) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Shuaibu, expressed disappointment that the suspect, despite her age, could be involved in such an exploitative crime.
Having considered her age and the fact that she was a first offender, the judge sentenced her to 12 months imprisonment without an option of fine.
In a related development, a Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced 55-year-old Hassana Usman from Nassarawa Local Government Area and 40-year-old Altine Aliyu from Bebeji Local Government Area, both of Kano State, to 24 months each for human trafficking.
The convicted persons were arraigned by NAPTIP on a four-count charge of procuring four children between the ages of 8 and 9 for domestic servitude. The victims, all female, were recruited from Bebeji LGA of the state for domestic servitude within the Kano metropolis.
Recruitment or employment of children for domestic servitude is an offence punishable under Section 23(1) (a) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
Having listened to the prosecuting and defense counsels, the presiding judge, Justice Jude Dagat, declared that the court found the women guilty of the offence and subsequently sentenced them to six months imprisonment each, on each count, bringing it to a total of 24 months each without an option of
fine.
Reacting to the judgement, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, applauded the officers for their tenacity and expressed her faith in the judiciary while using the opportunity to warn Nigerians to desist from employing children as domestic helps, as they end up abusing them.
