After failing to comply with their bail conditions of GH 50,000 with two sureties, two foreigners who are accused of luring two young ladies from Nigeria to Ho under the pretence of getting them jobs at a boutique in Ghana but coerced them into prostitution have been returned to police cells.
This came after yesterday’s second appearance by the defendants at the Ho Circuit Court.
Zeinab Musah, 23, alias Berry, and Halima Abdulai, 23, alias Treasure, are the two accused of human trafficking.
The court presided over by Mr. Felix Datsomor, was informed that after the victims arrived in Ho, the accused banned them from wearing underwear and brassieres and immediately set up guys to have sex with them in a hotel.
The Senior State Attorney, Andrews Dodzi Adugu, claimed that the accused occasionally escorted their victims to a well-known nightclub in Ho where they were offered to men for sex in exchange for money.
According to the prosecution, the accused kept the victims in a room and forbade them from leaving after they insisted on going back to Nigeria.
In one instance, the accused requested that one of the victims inform her mother to send them 1.2 million Naira if she wanted her daughter’s freedom.
Later, they took their victims’ phones and underwear and threatened to use those possessions to seduce them if they escaped.
The prosecution claims that on May 12 of this year, both victims succeeded in leaving the house in Ho-Dave and begged a tricycle taxi driver to let them stay the night in his home.
The victims reported the incident to the Ho Central Police Station the following day, which informed the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, according to further information provided to the court.
The two women were then taken into custody the same day.
According to the prosecution, the two ladies claimed in their caution statements that the victims were never promised any job at a boutique and that they were informed they would be engaging in prostitution in Ho before arriving in Ghana.
Each accused person was given a bail amount of GH50,000 with two sureties; however, when the bail requirements were not met, they had to be led back to police custody.
The accused will be appearing before the court on June 14.
