Mercy Sese, 24, was sentenced to seven years in prison, with the option of N4.5 million fine by a Federal High Court in Makurdi, Benue State, for trafficking underage girls to Mali for sexual exploitation.
Justice AbduDogo, the presiding judge, sentenced Sese on Wednesday, May 11, after she pled guilty to a seven-count allegation of organizing international travels for underage girls to Mali for prostitution.
Sections 18, 27, and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015 are violated.
It was reported that the Makurdi Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person, NAPTIP, apprehended Sese at a popular motor park in Makurdi earlier this year.
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Mrs. Gloria Bai , Makurdi Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, stated that a huge sum of money including foreign currencies were recovered from Sese.
“The Command in the early hours of Friday, January 7, 2022, received a call from a concerned citizen from Duku Motor Part at Wurukum Makurdi, who alerted the command of a case of human trafficking involving seven ladies, of which one is the trafficker,” she stated.
“Officers of the command arrived at Duku Motor Park some few minutes after receiving the call and met the six ladies and the culprit, who said they were all travelling to Lagos.
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“The victims were between the ages 16-24 years by facial analysis. At the time of the arrival, the Nigerian police were also on the ground because they were also called on the matter.
“About N500,000 was found on Sese alongside some foreign currencies indicating that the victims were to be moved to a destination outside the country yet to be determined.
“The ladies were all moved to the office of the Nigeria Police in the company of the officers o NAPTIP and the police are carrying out preliminary investigation for onward transfer to NAPTIP for future investigation and possible prosecution,” she added.