Court Hands 45-Year Sentence to Woman Over Child Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation

(A Federal High Court. Photo Credit: Punch News)

A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta has sentenced a 29-year-old woman, Eniola Adedeji, to 45 years’ imprisonment for tr@fficking a minor (name withheld) for sexual exploitation in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.

Adedeji, who was arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on various human tr@fficking offences, was found guilty on nine counts and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for each, with the terms ordered to run concurrently.

The Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Ogun State Command, Bose Jimoh, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, explaining that the agency had secured the successful prosecution and conviction of Adedeji before the Federal High Court, Abeokuta Judicial Division, on June 5, 2026, in connection with the tr@fficking of a minor for sexual exploitation in Cotonou.

According to Jimoh, the defendant was arrested on August 18, 2024, by police operatives at Adigbe, Abeokuta, and was subsequently arraigned before Hon. Justice A. J. Adeyemi of Court 2, Federal High Court, Abeokuta, on September 24, 2024.

Trial commenced on March 12, 2025, with judgment delivered on June 5, 2026, in which the court convicted the defendant on counts one to eight and count ten, while discharging and acquitting her on count nine.

Jimoh noted that the convictions were secured under various provisions of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, with all sentences running concurrently.

This conviction comes shortly after a 27-year-old man, Chukwuemeka Iheamama, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for tr@fficking two minors, identified as Bright Edim, 15, and Mary Ekong, 15, for exploitation.

According to NAPTIP, Iheamama was tried before the same Federal High Court in Abeokuta on a three-count charge bordering on child tr@fficking, and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with a N250,000 fine on count one, five years with a N500,000 fine on count two, and a further five years on count three, with all sentences also ordered to run concurrently.