Chioma Sabina Abaraonye

A joint team of Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and police officers in the Northern Region, have arrested a female Nigerian alleged to be engaged in human trafficking.

The suspect one , Chioma Sabina Abaraonye, 31, is said to have been engaged in the business of trafficking young and energetic ladies from Nigeria to Ghana for prostitution.

She succeeded in trafficking two victims,(names withheld) 23, and 26 respectively into Ghana for prostitution.

However luck eluded her when one of her victims escaped from her and reported the matter to the police in Tamale.

The suspect was subsequently arrested by the police.

The suspect lured her victims into Ghana claiming that she can assist them work in Ghana as sales girls in some business institutions.

The victims , mostly Nigerians are trafficked through the Aflao border into Ghana.

One of the victims (name withheld ) told journalists that the suspect lured them into the country with the impression that they were coming to work as sales girls.

According to her, when they arrived in Ghana , they were transported to Tamale where reality dawn on them that they were not brought to Tamale as sales girls but prostitutes.

She revealed that the suspect and her Ghanaian boyfriend took their hair, part of their nails and forced them to take an oath indicating that they would not reveal their activities to any authority, else they would die.

‘They said they are keeping the hair and nails and if we run , they will make us run mad’.

The frustrated looking victim, said they were made to sleep with men daily and account to their madam at the end of the day.

“We were tasked to bring GH¢ 100 home and if you fail to get the GH¢100 , they will beat and torture you,” one of the victims said.

The victim said she was tired with the maltreatment by the suspect and her boyfriend and wanted to go back to Nigeria.

” I came to report the case because I want to go back to Nigeria, I can’t use my body to make money for somebody and I want her to return my phone and the hair, nails she took from me, “she said.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimate that between 200,000 and 300,000 children are trafficked each year for forced labour and sexual exploitation in West and Central Africa.

The Assistant Commissioner of Immigration Northern Region, E. Kofi Owusu, told journalists that ,the victims were forced to engage in the prostitution in order to repay their madam for the expenses she claimed to have incurred in bring them into Ghana.

Each of the girls were expected to pay back an amount GH¢ 8000 as expenses.

He indicated that the two victims have been transported to Ghana Immigration Headquarters in Accra whiles the suspect is on admission at the Tamale Teaching Hospital where she is said to be recuperating from a relapsed after undergoing an abortion a day earlier to her arrest.

The suspect is expected to be transported to Accra after she is discharged.

Meanwhile , the suspect’s boyfriend one Sof is currently on the run