A Circuit Court in Tema, Ghana, has sentenced two Nigerian nationals to 20 years’ imprisonment each after convicting them of human trafficking and causing harm to 11 fellow Nigerians whom they lured into the country with false promises of employment before allegedly forcing them into internet fraud.
The convicts, Kingsley Ndifon, 29, and Emmanuel Akong, 25, were found guilty after a trial that stemmed from their arrest on August 20, 2023, following a distress call to the Afienya District Police Command.
According to a statement issued by the Tema Regional Police Command on Wednesday, police officers, assisted by residents, stormed a house at Sebrepor, a suburb of Tema, where they rescued 11 Nigerian victims who were allegedly being held against their will.
A search of the premises led to the recovery of 16 laptops and an iPad, believed to have been used in the criminal operation.
Police investigations revealed that the victims were recruited from Nigeria under the guise of securing lucrative jobs in Ghana. However, upon arrival, they were allegedly confined in the house, stripped of their mobile phones and identity cards, and compelled to engage in cyber-related fraud using laptops supplied by the suspects.
The victims were also allegedly subjected to harsh conditions, including being fed only once daily and physically assaulted whenever they failed to comply with instructions. Investigators said they were beaten with laptop cables and machetes, leaving some with cutlass wounds, while many were found to be malnourished and in poor health.
The convicts were arraigned before Circuit Court ‘B’ in Tema, presided over by Her Honour Naomi Adusei Amamiampong Kucuor, on charges of conspiracy to commit crime, human trafficking and causing harm.
At the conclusion of the trial, the court convicted both men on the human trafficking and causing harm charges, sentencing each of them to 20 years’ imprisonment for human trafficking and 10 years for causing harm, with both sentences to run concurrently.
The Tema Regional Police Command described the convictions as a significant victory in the fight against human trafficking and cyber-enabled crimes, reaffirming its commitment to dismantling trafficking networks and urging the public to promptly report suspected cases of human trafficking and other criminal activities.
The case has once again highlighted the growing menace of cross-border human trafficking in West Africa, where vulnerable job seekers are increasingly targeted by criminal syndicates promising employment abroad, only to exploit them for cybercrime and other forms of forced labour.
