A 23-year-old Nigerian woman from a
village near Benin City thought she was being given an opportunity to
get an education and a job in the UK. However, her dreams were dashed
when she found out she was taken to a foreign land to become a sex
slave.
Her family had struggled financially ever since her father died in 2008, but it was her dream to become a nurse.
In February 2011, a woman from her village named, Beneditta offered to help her pursue this dream by sending her to England to attend school and secure a job.
She was informed that the cost of travelling, relocation, education,
and finding employment for her would be £40,000 – which she would have
to repay to the organisers.
READ MORE AFTER THE CUT...............................................
Because life had been challenging for her and her family since the
death of her father, she was eager to take advantage of what seemed like
a golden opportunity. Also, she reportedly had no idea what the Naira
equivalent of £40,000 was, and didn’t think it would be a big deal to
pay back the “loan.”
Before departing from Nigeria, she was
allegedly raped by one of the “organisers” of the trip and forced
to undergo a black magic ‘juju’ death ritual to prevent her from running
away.
Three members of an international prostitution ring: Olusoji Oluwafemi, 44, Johnson Olayinka, 45, and Florence Obadiaru,
48, are the alleged culprits. Today, they were convicted of trafficking
the woman into the UK for sexual exploitation and arranging for her
transfer to Italy, Daily Mail reports.
The gang
reportedly fooled the victim into flying to Heathrow Airport on a
fake passport. However, their plan to sell her into sex slavery in Italy
began to unravel when Italian authorities spotted her forged ID and
sent her back to the UK.
After immigration officials detained
her, she narrated her ordeal to them, leading to the arrest of the three
aforementioned individuals.
It is believed the woman is just one of
many victims of the group, based in Africa, that trafficks young women
through England to work as prostitutes in mainland Europe.
The judge presiding over the case stated
that custody is inevitable for the culprits. Sentencing has
been adjourned until July 11th.
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