Court sends businesswoman to jail over human trafficking claims

A Chief Magistrate’s Court in Makurdi, Benue State, on Monday ordered the detention of a businesswoman, Ruth Tarhemba, in the Nigerian Correctional Service. She is accused of trafficking two girls for prostitution.

The police charged Ms Tarhemba, who lives in Makurdi, with criminal conspiracy and human trafficking.

When the case was called, Chief Magistrate Regina Alashi did not take her plea. This was because the court lacked the authority to handle the matter.

Mrs Alashi postponed the case until 20 July for further mention.

Earlier, the prosecutor, James Kuegh, an inspector of police, told the court that Yaaya Sughnen reported the case to the Gender Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Makurdi.

Mr Kuegh explained that the complainant said that on 7 May, the two victims, who had escaped from their traffickers in Burkina Faso, shared their story with him.

The prosecutor added that the police arrested the defendant during their investigation into the matter.

He noted that the offence violated Sections 97 and 282 of the Penal Code Laws of Benue, 2004.