Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a Nigerian woman, Benedicta Usen, also known as Mrs. Carol Omomoh, to five years in prison for trafficking a young woman to Italy for prostitution.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in his ruling on Monday, found Omomoh guilty on all eight charges brought against her, stating that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge described her as a “crooked and dishonest human being” who preyed on vulnerable women for exploitation.
Omomoh was sentenced to two years and six months each on counts one, three, five, and seven, while receiving five years each on counts two, four, six, and eight. The judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently, starting from February 3.
“The evidence exposes her as being in the business of procuring young vulnerable women like Miss Cynthia Omoieke for prostitution abroad,” Justice Ekwo said. “People like the defendant must be taken out of society for good.”
According to the amended charges filed by the Inspector-General of Police, Omomoh and an accomplice, Mrs. Oyomiya Lamidi (now at large), conspired in 2011 to recruit and transport Miss Cynthia Loveth Ese Omoieke from Lagos to Italy through the United Kingdom under false pretenses and by abusing her vulnerability.
The prosecution stated that Omomoh facilitated Omoieke’s travel with the intent of forcing her into prostitution, an act punishable under Section 27 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration (TPPEA) Act, 2015.