Mohammed V. A-g, Fed (2020)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

KUDIRAT MOTONMORI OLATOKUNBO KEKERE-EKUN, J.S.C.

The Appellant and one Eunice Owoyele were arraigned before the Federal High Court, Ikeja Judicial Division on 1st February, 2011 on a 3-count charge as follows:

Count 1:

That you Eunice Owoyele (f) 40 years of No. 40 Dagbolu Street; Idiroko, Lagos and Mariam Mohammed a.k.a. Mama Blessing (f) 60 years of No. 288 Ogolonto Area, Ikorodu, Lagos on or about the 31st day of August, 2010 at No. 40 Dagbolu Street, Idiroko, Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court procured Mary Joseph (f) 18 years of No. 5 Sunmola Street, Mende, Maryland for prostitution and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (a) of the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 as amended and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

Count 2

​That you Eunice Owoyele (f) 40 years of No. 40 Dagbolu Street, Idiroko, Lagos and Mariam Mohammed a.k.a. Mama Blessing (f) 60 years of No. 288 Ogolonto Area, Ikorodu, Lagos on or about the 31st day of August, 2010 at No. 40 Dagbolu Street, Idiroko, Lagos within the jurisdiction of

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the Federal High Court organized foreign travel for Mary Joseph (f) 18 years of age of No. 5 Sunmola Street, Mende, Maryland to Libya for prostitution and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 16 of the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 as amended and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

Count 3

That you Eunice Owoyele (f) 40 years of No. 40 Dagbolu Street, Idiroko, Lagos and Mariam Mohammed a.k.a. Mama Blessing (f) 60 years of No. 288 Ogolonto Area, Ikorodu, Lagos on or about the 31st day of August, 2010 at No. 40 Dagbolu Street, Idiroko, Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court deceitfully induced Mary Joseph (f) 18 years of No. 5 Sunmola Street, Mende, Maryland to go from Lagos to Libya and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 19 (b) of the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 as amended and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

The appellant was the 2nd accused at the trial. Both accused persons pleaded not guilty to each of the three counts. At the conclusion of the trial, in a considered judgment

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delivered on 5/10/2011, the appellant was found guilty on all the counts, while her co-accused was found guilty on counts 1 and 3 only. On count 1 the appellant was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment without an option of fine. On count 2, she was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment without an option of fine and on count 3 she was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. The sentences are to run concurrently.

She was dissatisfied with her conviction and sentence and appealed to the Court below. The appeal was dismissed on 18th July, 2014, hence the further appeal to this Court vide a notice of appeal filed on 10/12/2014 containing 5 grounds of appeal.