A 37-year-old man, Favour Eboigbe was weekend, sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for trafficking six girls to Burkina Faso for prostitution.
The convict was arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Benin, Edo State on 12 counts before Justice A. A. Okeke.
Eboigbe, according to reports, had taken six girls, (ages between 15 and 21), outside the country for prostitution in 2009.
He was however, nabbed recently by officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP in Edo, following a tip-off.
The victims upon their rescue were reportedly taken to NAPTIP in the state.
Ebiogbe pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were said to be contrary to sections 15a, 16 and 19b of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003.
Justice Okeke dismissed his plea and reportedly sentenced him to a 10-year jail term.
Meanwhile, the Benin Zonal Command of NAPTIP, through its spokesman, Mr. Nduka Nwanwene, said it had successfully rescued 1,200 girls in Edo State since 2004 and secured 55 convictions.
The spokesman said the law empowering the agency had been strengthened to prevent Nigerians from being shipped out of the country for sexual exploits by unscrupulous people.
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