A 40-year-old driver known as 'Adebayo' has been sentenced to five years in prison after a Denu court found him guilty of trafficking Nigerian women through Ghana under false job promises. The court, which convicted him on six counts tied to a scheme that lured Nigerian women into Ghana with false job offers, only to push them toward prostitution across the border in Côte d'Ivoire.
According to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Amos Kojo Andrews was handed five years' imprisonment on each of the six counts, with the sentences running concurrently, resulting in an effective five-year term. He is to be transferred to Ho Central Prison to serve out his sentence. The charges against him included conspiracy to commit human trafficking and human trafficking itself.
Three of the six counts related to conspiracy to commit human trafficking under Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). The remaining three counts were for human trafficking itself, brought under Sections 2(1) and 2(2) of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694), as amended in 2009.
The scheme unraveled when a passenger overheard a phone conversation about plans to move one of the victims to Aflao and alerted security officials. Andrews was arrested when he arrived at the Aflao station to collect her. A follow-up search of his residence led to the rescue of a second Nigerian woman who had also been promised work abroad before being told she would be sent to Abidjan for prostitution.
In delivering judgment, the court found that prosecutors had presented strong evidence establishing both the trafficking and conspiracy charges. The defence had failed to counter admissions and inconsistencies in Andrews' account. The case highlights the risks faced by women recruited under false promises of employment.
The Volta Region, and particularly the Aflao-Elubo corridor connecting Ghana to Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire, remains a known transit route for trafficking networks moving victims across West Africa. Deputy Commissioner of Immigration Mark Asamoah-Boakye called on the public to stay alert and report suspicious activity that could help identify and prosecute those involved in bringing unsuspecting victims into the country.
This conviction follows broader public awareness efforts around trafficking in Ghana, including a recent warning from the Ghana Immigration Service that giving cash to child beggars could inadvertently fund trafficking networks. No further court dates or details of additional suspects connected to this case have been disclosed.
Key points
- The driver was sentenced to five years in prison for trafficking Nigerian women through Ghana under false job promises.
- The case highlights the risks faced by women recruited under false promises of employment.
- The public is urged to stay alert and report suspicious activity that could help identify and prosecute those involved in human trafficking.
