Man Gets Two-year Jail Term for Trafficking 30 Women to Libya

Man Gets Two-year Jail Term for Trafficking 30 Women to Libya

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

A Federal High Court in Kano, Kano State, has sentenced a 28-year-old man, Abubakar Suleiman, to two years in prison without any option of fine for trafficking 30 women to Libya.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic In Persons (NAPTIP) charged Suleiman, a residence of Kadawa Miltara quarters in Ungogo Local Government Area of the state, with one-count charge of trafficking in persons.

The prosecution counsel, Abdullahi Babale, told the court yesterday that the defendant on February 10, 2021, conspired with one Salele (a Nigerien) now at large to transferred 30 woman from Edo and Lagos States to Niger Republic through Babura border in Jigawa State enroute to Libya.

He said the defendants deducted N5,000 from each of the women from the N50,000 paid per person from the sponsors in Libya and Niger Republic as commission.

According to the prosecutor, the offence contravened the provisions of Section 13(2) (c) of the Trafficking in Persons(Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015.

The defendant, however, pleaded guilty to the charge.

Babale tendered the defendant’s statement and one of the victim’s statements as exhibits, and urged the court to sentence the defendant according to Section 356 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

However, the defence counsel, M. B. Isa, pleaded for leniency on behalf of his client, ‘because he is a first time offender’.

“The defendant is married and has five children. We pray the court to temper justice with mercy according to Section 416 (2) of ACJA 2015,” he said.

The presiding Judge, Justice Sa’adatu Ibrahim-Mark, sentenced the convict to two years in prison at the correctional centre without any option of fine, and ordered the convict to pay an additional sum of N250,000, failure of which he will serve additional three months in the correctional centre.

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