CRIME Court remands 5 over trafficking Police arrest 7 suspected robbers women to Libya for prostitution of bank customers
The police in Benue State have arrested seven people allegedly involved in robbing bank customers of huge sums of money in Makurdi metropolis of the state.
The suspects included an alleged government official, one Amos Nembr, who claimed to be the Supervisor of Public Utility and Environmental Sanitation in the office of the Senior Special Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom on Public Utility.
Others included Ferdinand Nwachukwu (Dogo), Ike Chubike, Terna Yisam, Fanen Hembe and two others whose names were not given.
Nembr who is currently helping the police with more information on his alleged crime alongside the six others, told Daily Trust yesterday at the police headquarters in Makurdi that he was implicated by Nwachukwu and Chubike after he “burst the bubble on them.”
According to Nembr, the duo forcefully took away his car last Thursday night after they lured him to a drinking joint on the guise of discussing business with him so he reported them to the police who arrested them and recovered the vehicle that same night.
“I will tell the truth. We use to steal money. We patrol banks vicinity on motorcycle to monitor customers who come out from the banks with huge sums of money. We will trail them with our motorbike to certain points where we draw such victim’s attention to their tyres.
“As soon as they alight from the vehicle to find out what went wrong, one of us will engage the victim in conversation while the other would use master key to open the car and we will then flee with their money,” Nwachukwu narrated.
Five persons were yesterday remanded in prison custody by an Oredo Magistrate’s Court, Benin, for allegedly trafficking Evelyn Oghagbon (23) and Mary Osarobo (23) for the purpose of prostitution.
The accused persons, Osaro Rasheed (47), Caroline Oyasiri (52), Christopher Erhahon (50), Hellen Osarobo (46) and Roland Egbon (52), were said to have committed the offence in May 2016.
They were arraigned on a threecount charge of procurement for prostitution, human trafficking and illegal entry.
The accused persons were also charged with ‘exporting’ their victims to Libya for prostitution and other sexual exploitations.
The prosecutor, Patrick Agbonifo, said the offences are punishable under sections 27, 14(b) and 26(1) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015.
In his ruling, Chief Magistrate F.E Akhere, referred the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice and adjourned to November 24.