A 28-year-old woman identified as Vivian Francis has been arrested and arraigned by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons, the Edo state command for luring her three siblings from Cross River State to Benin city for prostitution.
This was contained in a press statement released by the zonal commander of NAPTIP, Mrs Ijeoma Uduak.
The zonal commander of NAPTIP said Vivian lured the victims, aged 15, 17 and 18, to Benin city on the pretext that she would help them secure jobs.
According to Uduak, Vivian was arrested at a popular hotel during the COVID-19 lockdown and has confessed to the crime which is punishable under Section 13 of the NAPTIP Act.
Uduak said Vivian has been arraigned before Justice Isoken Erameh of the State High Court 3, Criminal Division, where she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one-year imprisonment or an option of N125,000 fine as a first time offender.
“We clamped down on the convict during the COVID-19 lockdown at a popular hotel in Benin. She confessed to going to Cross River State to bring the three girls, who were aged 15, 17, and 18. She told them that she had secured pub attendant jobs for them, but when they got to Benin, she started using them for prostitution and collecting the proceeds.
She was arrested and charged for violating Section 13 of the NAPTIP Act. She pleaded guilty and was convicted and sentenced to one-year imprisonment with an option of N125,000 fine.” the statement read.
Uduak added that the victims had been reunited with their family in Cross River State.
Vivian also disclosed that she regrets her actions during interrogation.
