A 31-year-old Nigerian, OKolo Chukwakadibia Jackson, has been sentenced by the Kweikuma Gender Circuit Court to 10 years in prison for human trafficking. Additionally, Jackson was fined five hundred penalty units (GHc1,200.00) for illegal entry into the country, with a default penalty of six months imprisonment.
Presided over by Her Honour Naa Amerley Akowuah, the court convicted Jackson of trafficking a 16-year-old girl and two other females from Onitsha, Anambra state, to Ghana. He pleaded guilty to two counts of Human Trafficking and Illegal Entry, violating sections 2(1)/(2) of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (ACT 694) as amended by section 1(1) of the Human Trafficking Act, 2009, and the section 2(1) and 52(1)(D) of the Immigration Act, 2000 (ACT 573).
According to the prosecution, Jackson illegally entered the country in 2021 and remained undocumented until his arrest near Asankrangwa in the Western Region. The 16-year-old victim revealed that Madam Ella, one of the accomplices, recruited them in Nigeria, falsely promising jobs in Dubai.
Prosecutors stated that Jackson sent Six Hundred and Sixty-Eight Thousand Two Hundred Naira (N668,200) to cover recruitment expenses. The victims arrived in Lagos on February 11, 2024, and were transported to Accra, where Jackson received them.
On February 15, 2024, Jackson directed the victims to a brothel, where the 16-year-old was coerced into prostitution under threat of death. She escaped and sought refuge with the Ghana Immigration Service, prompting Jackson's arrest.
During interrogation, Jackson confessed to trafficking three other victims to Madam Gifty in exchange for Eight Thousand Five Hundred Ghana Cedis (Ghc 8,500.00). Efforts by the Western Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service continue to apprehend syndicate members and rescue victims.