Tribunal grants trader 50 million cedi bail

The Koforidua Circuit Tribunal has granted a trader 50-million cedi bail with a surety to be justified, for allegedly luring four female teenagers from Ghana to Nigeria to indulge in prostitution.

Abena Djaba, who pleaded not guilty on four counts of procuring the teenagers, will reappear before the tribunal on 15 October. The tribunal, presided over by Mr. Gabriel Simon Suurbaareh, ordered Abena to report every Monday and Friday to the Police and also to hand over her Passport to the police.

Prosecuting, Superintendent Elizabeth Allandu told the Tribunal that Abena is a trader and runs between Ghana and Nigeria. The victims aged between 14 and 18 years were serving as house-helps and a seamstress apprentices.

She said sometime in April, this year, Abena met the victims at Somanya in the Eastern Region and convinced them to accompany her to Lagos for lucrative jobs. She was alleged to have told them not to inform anyone, including their parents.

According to the Prosecutor, Abena took the victims to Lagos at her own expense and later hired them out to an accomplice, Rejoice, at a cost of 50,000 naira each. The victims were sent to a hotel and allocated rooms for prostitution.

Supt. Allandu said the girls worked for a mistress, who charged the customers and collected the monies, while the victims received a small amount for food.

She said they were also molested and it was during such inhuman acts that one of them escaped to inform a Ghanaian residing around, who also informed the Ghana High Commissioner, leading to their rescue and repatriation to Ghana.

According to her Abena was arrested and during interrogation admitted sending the victims to Nigeria with their parents consent but not for prostitution.