Court Jails Woman Five Years for Human Trafficking Offence

(Federal High Court. Photo by Naijaonpoint)

Mercy Moses was found guilty of human trafficking under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA) and sentenced to five years in jail by Judge Ayokunle Faji of a Federal High Court in Lagos.

On Monday, while delivering the decision in charge marked FHC/L/685C/2024, which was brought against the convict by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking of Persons (NAPTIP), Justice Faji found the lady guilty and condemned her.

In sentencing the convict, Justice Faji held that the punishment prescribed under Section 21 of TIPPEA is mandatory, leaving the court with no discretion to impose a sentence below the statutory minimum.

The judge rejected the plea by the convict’s counsel, Barrister U. M. G. Eze, for a lesser sentence, noting that the authorities cited by the defence were neither properly presented nor applicable to the circumstances of the case.

Relying on a plethora of legal authorities, Justice Faji stressed that where a statute prescribes a minimum sentence, courts are bound to enforce it, adding that any sentence below the statutory minimum would be liable to reversal on appeal.

Consequently, the judge sentenced the convict, Mercy Moses, to five years’ imprisonment on the charge, ruling that the sentence would take effect from September 6, 2024, the date of her arrest.

Justice Faji also imposed a fine of N2 million in line with the provisions of the law, and further ordered the convict to pay 1,300 Libyan Dinars as compensation to the victim, identified as Moses Prosper, also known as Samuel Mercy, as requested by the prosecutor, Barrister U. I. Egonu.

The judge held that the defendant had admitted to collecting the money from the victim, although she claimed it was proceeds of pr0stitution, ruling that the admission established that the money belonged to the victim and that allowing the convict to retain it would amount to unjust enrichment.

Invoking Section 65(2) of TIPPEA, which empowers courts to award compensation to victims of tr@fficking, Justice Faji said the victim had suffered economic loss and was entitled to restitution.

Stressing that the court was duty-bound to ensure exploited persons receive appropriate compensation in addition to the punishment imposed on offenders.