By Mariama Marong
A Nigerian woman sentenced to 21 years in prison for human trafficking in The Gambia has appealed against her conviction and sentence at the High Court in Banjul.
Obanla Damilola Beatrice’s appeal is before Justice Sonia, following her conviction on 28 March 2024 by Principal Magistrate Anna O. Mendy at the Essau Magistrates’ Court.
Beatrice was convicted on one count of trafficking in persons, contrary to Section 28(2)(c) of the Trafficking in Persons Act, 2007.
In her petition of appeal, she said she was dissatisfied with the trial court’s judgment, describing it as unreasonable and unwarranted. She argued that the prosecution’s evidence did not support the conviction and maintained that she was not guilty of the offence. She is challenging both her conviction and sentence.
The charge alleged that, on or about 2 January 2022, at Amdalai Village in the Lower Niumi District of the North Bank Region, Beatrice unlawfully trafficked two Nigerian women [names withheld] into The Gambia and introduced them to prostitution or commercial sex without authority.
During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses, including the two women and the manager of the lodge where they stayed.
One of the victims told the court that Beatrice had offered her and other women employment opportunities in The Gambia, promising jobs in a hair salon and a restaurant. According to her testimony, Beatrice agreed to finance her journey at a cost of D250,000, which she was expected to repay after arriving in the country. But she testified that, upon arrival, she and one other victim were taken to South Africa Lodge in Amdalai instead of the promised workplace.
She told the court that the two women were subsequently engaged in prostitution to repay the money used for their transportation. She said she charged D300 for each sexual encounter, paid D300 daily in room rent and handed the remaining money to the lodge manager.
The lodge manager, Safarudwn Mary Toluwape, popularly known as JJ, told the court that Beatrice had contacted her from Nigeria to ask whether she could accommodate girls travelling to The Gambia.
She said Beatrice later arrived with the two women, whom she accommodated at the lodge.
Toluwape also testified that Beatrice regularly collected money from the women. She said payments were recorded in a book, with entries showing that victim one had paid 600,000 CFA francs and victim two 800,000 CFA francs.
Police investigator Musa Jawo told the court that he initially received a complaint from Beatrice alleging that the women had refused to repay the money spent on transporting them from Nigeria. However, after investigating the complaint, he concluded that the women had been trafficked by Beatrice, who was subsequently arrested.
In her defence, Beatrice disputed the prosecution’s account and presented her own version of events. She was the only defence witness whose testimony remained before the court after the evidence of another defence witness was struck out because the witness was unavailable for cross-examination.
When sentencing Beatrice, the magistrate considered that she was a first-time offender, appeared remorseful and had pleaded for mitigation. However, the court held that the minimum sentence prescribed under the Trafficking in Persons Act limited its discretion to impose a lesser punishment.
Beatrice was sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment and fined D50,000, with two years’ imprisonment in default of payment. The court also ordered her to pay D250,000 in compensation to each of the two victims or in default to serve 15 years in jail. The sentence included two years’ imprisonment in default of payment of each compensation award.
She was ordered to serve her prison term at Mile Two Central Prisons in Banjul. The High Court is being asked to review the conviction and sentence.
Facebook Notice for EU! You need to login to view and post FB Comments!