Two Nigerians, Kingsley Ndifon and Emmanuel Akong, have been sentenced to 20 years in prison each by a Ghanaian court for human trafficking and causing harm.
Ndifon, 29, and Akong, 25, were jailed by judge, Naomi Adusei Amamiampog Kucour of the Circuit Court ‘B’ in Tema.
They were said to have lured fellow Nigerians to Ghana under the guise of providing them employment and forcing them to engage in cybercrime.
The Ghana Police disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to the statement, the Tema Regional Police Command prosecuted the convicts following their arrest on August 20, 2023, at Sebrepor, a suburb of Tema.
The police said their arrest followed a distress call received by the Afienya District Police Command that some persons were being held in a house against their will.
The two were arrested while eleven Nigerians kept in the house were rescued.
A search of the house led to the recovery of 16 laptops and one iPad from rooms occupied by the suspects, the police said.
The statement reads, “Police investigations established that the victims had been recruited from Nigeria to Ghana by the suspects under the pretext of securing employment for them.
“Upon their arrival in Ghana, however, they were allegedly forced into cyber-related activities and confined to the house at Sebrepor.
“The suspects reportedly confiscated the victims’ mobile phones and identification cards and compelled them to engage in internet fraud using the laptops provided to them.
“Investigations further revealed that the victims were fed once a day and subjected to severe physical abuse whenever they failed to comply with instructions.
“They were allegedly beaten with laptop cables and machetes, resulting in injuries, including cutlass wounds. The victims were also found to be malnourished and in poor health.”
The police said the accused persons were subsequently arraigned before the Circuit Court ‘B’, Tema, presided over by Her Honour Naomi Adusei Amamiampog Kucour, on charges of conspiracy to commit crime, namely human trafficking, contrary to Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29); human trafficking, contrary to Section 2(2) of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694); and causing harm, contrary to Section 69 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
Following the trial, Ndifon and Akong were found guilty on Counts Two and Three, respectively.
The court sentenced each accused person to 20 years’ imprisonment on Count Two and 10 years’ imprisonment on Count Three, with the sentences to run concurrently.
(The Sun)