A Federal High Court in Kano, on Thursday sentenced a 28-year-old man, Abubakar Suleiman, to two years imprisonment for trafficking 30 women to Libya.
The National Agency for the Prohibition in Persons charged Suleiman, who resides in Kadawa Miltara Quarters of Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano, with one count of trafficking in persons.
Delivering judgment, Justice Sa’adatu Ibrahim-Mark sentenced the convict without an option of fine.
Ibrahim-Mark ordered the convict to pay N250,000 in compensation.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Abdullahi Babale told the court that the convict on Feb.10, conspired with one Salele (a Nigerien) now at large, and transferred 30 women from Edo and Lagos states to Niger Republic through Babura border in Jigawa, enroute Libya.
He said that the convict 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.
Babale tendered the defendant’s statement and one of the victims statement as exhibit and urged the court to sentence the defendant according to section 356 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
The defence counsel, M.B. Isa, pleaded for leniency on behalf of his client as 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 ACJL 2015,” he said.
