Supreme Court upholds conviction of human trafficker

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld the conviction of a human trafficker, Sarah Ekundayo Ezekiel, who had earlier been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for trafficking in persons.
The judgment brings to an end the legal battle, which started in 2011 in Ikeja, Lagos. In a unanimous decision on Friday, the five Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who sat on the matter, upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.
In his lead Judgment, Justice C.C. Nwaeze said he found no merit in the appeal and therefore dismissed it. Ezekiel was dragged to the Federal High Court, Ikeja, Lagos on November 18, 2011 by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on an 18 Counts charge, all bothering on offences of trafficking in persons contrary to various sections of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 (as amended) Ezekiel, who was 29 years old as at the time of committing the offence in July 2011, procured four females – aged 17, 19, 20 and 21 – from various parts of Lagos State and took them to Mali where they were used as prostitutes. On arraignment, she pleaded guilty to all the counts and was subsequently found guilty, convicted on all the 18 counts and sentenced. Aggrieved by her conviction and sentence, Ezekiel approached the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which affirmed the trial Court’s verdict.
Still not satisfied, she approached the Apex Court, which has dismissed the appeal for lack of merit. Reacting to the Supreme Court judgment, Acting Director-General of NAPTIP, Abdulrazak Dangiri, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the appeal. This Supreme Court judgment brings to two the appeals decided by the Apex Court in the last two weeks on human trafficking.
The Court a fortnight ago in a judgment read by Hon. Justice Mary Odili dismissed a similar appeal brought against the Agency by a convicted trafficker, Martina Opara, who was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.