COURT JAILS WOMAN 45 YEARS FOR TRAFFICKING MINOR FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has sentenced a 29-year-old woman, Eniola Adedeji, to 45 years’ imprisonment for trafficking a minor for sexual exploitation in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.

Adedeji was arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on human trafficking offences and was found guilty on nine counts.

The court sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment on each of the nine counts, with all jail terms ordered to run concurrently.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Ogun State Command, Bose Jimoh.

According to the statement, the conviction followed a lengthy trial process after the defendant’s arrest in 2024.

“On the 5th of June, 2026, NAPTIP, Ogun State Command, secured the successful prosecution and conviction of one Eniola Boluwatife Adedeji, female, 29 years old, before the Federal High Court, Abeokuta Judicial Division, in connection with the trafficking of one minor for sexual exploitation in Cotonou, Republic of Benin,” the statement read.

NAPTIP explained that Adedeji was arrested on August 18, 2024, by officers of the Nigeria Police Force at Adigbe, Abeokuta, and subsequently arraigned before Justice A. J. Adeyemi on September 24, 2024.

Trial proceedings commenced on March 12, 2025, while judgment was delivered on June 5, 2026.

According to the agency, the court convicted the defendant on counts one to eight and count 10, but discharged and acquitted her on count nine.

NAPTIP stated that the offences violated provisions of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.

The agency reaffirmed its commitment to combating human trafficking and ensuring offenders are prosecuted.

The conviction comes shortly after another trafficking case in which a 27-year-old man, Chukwuemeka Iheamama, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for trafficking two minors identified as Bright Edim, 15, and Mary Ekong, 15, for exploitation.

According to NAPTIP, Iheamama was convicted on three counts of child trafficking, with the court ordering that his sentences run concurrently.