A businesswoman has appeared before an Accra circuit court for allegedly trafficking four Nigerian ladies to Ghana to engage in prostitution.
The victims are Okafour Amarachi, hairdresser; Mercy Kanayo; Success Abraham and Vivian Abraham, unemployed.
The prosecutor, DSP Cletus Abadanlora, told the court that the accused, Blessing Anta, during the month of August this year at Lapaz in Accra, deceived, recruited and brought the four victims from Nigeria to Ghana for the purpose of exploitation -prostitution.
She was slapped with a four-count charge of human trafficking contrary to Section 2(1) of the Human Trafficking Act, 2009. Anta, who was without a lawyer, was remanded into police custody until September 18, 2017, by Janet Harriet Akweley. The complainants are Vivian and Amarachi, who reside in Accra.
During the month of June this year, Anta traveled to Nigeria and met Amarachi and Mercy in a hairdressing saloon. In a conversation, Anta promised them of a lucrative job in Ghana as sales girls in her own boutique with GH¢400 monthly salary per person, which enticed them.
Anta left Nigeria for Ghana and later sent money to Nigerian to transport the ladies to Ghana.
On June 14, Amarachi and Mercy set off from Nigerian and arrived in Ghana at 1:00 am on June 15 and Anta took the victims to Kata Hotel two days after their arrival in Ghana and later took them to a place called Bigot at Lapaz in Accra and forced them into prostitution.
The victims had sexual intercourse with men and managed to raise GH¢600 each day for Anta.
In the same vein, Anta sent money to Vivian and Success in Nigeria to come to Ghana and received them at Kata Hotel where she lives, on August 17, 2017.
On the same day Anta forcibly collected the victims’ panties, pubic and armpit hair and threatened that if they refused to work, they would go mad and charged each of them to pay GH¢4,000 before they could have their freedom.
The police say Anta sent the victim to Bigot again and forced them into prostitution and managed to raise an unspecified amount of money from the ladies.
The victims, who could no longer continue with the prostitution, told the accused they wanted to go back to Nigeria but Anta said they could not until they had finished paying the GH¢4,000 each.
The complainant reported the case to the police, leading to the arrest of Anta.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson