A Nigerian businessman has appeared in the Accra Circuit Court on charges of trafficking four young Nigerians to Ghana to engage in internet fraud.
Tijani Husseini is being held on two counts of human trafficking.
Husseini and his accomplice, businessman Hassan Great, are jointly charged with conspiracy and two counts of assault.
They pleaded not guilty.
The court, presided over by Mr. Samuel Bright Akua, granted them bail in the amount of GHC50,000 with two sureties.
The court also ordered Mr. Husseini and Mr. Great to report to the police every Wednesday and submit all travel documents to the court’s registry.
This matter has been adjourned to January 23, 2024.
Prosecutors, led by Chief Inspector General Dixon Atuna, said the complainant in the case is 19 years old and that the accused are internet fraudsters.
According to the newspaper, in July 2023, Husseini recruited the first victim (17 years old) and the second victim (21 years old) from Nigeria to Ghana under the pretext of securing jobs.
Prosecutors said Husseini met the victims when they arrived and sneaked into his home in Aykuma.
The court heard Husseini took their mobile phones, erased all their information and forced them to engage in internet fraud.
Prosecutors said Husseini inflicted severe beatings on his victims because they did not understand what he had taught them.
Prosecutors said Husseini forced the victim to eat only once a day and drink only one bag of water 24 hours a day.
Prosecutors said the victims were prohibited from leaving their homes or making phone calls and were prohibited from using their private social media handles for any purpose other than to deceive people, mostly Japanese, on Instagram.
Prosecutors said the victims worked from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. the following day.
In August 2023, Husseini recruited two more victims, aged 19 and 22, and transported them from Nigeria to Ghana where they were given similar treatment.
Prosecutors said the second defendant, Mr. Great, is a colleague of the fraudster from Nigeria who arrived in Ghana in August 2023 and joined Mr. Husseini in an internet fraud operation.
The victims were always brutally beaten by Great and Husseini.
Prosecutors said on October 6, 2023, one of the victims was transferred from Aikuma to Mensah Bar by the defendants, where she was to work for three weeks under another “manager” named Element Moses, a Nigerian. Announced. He is a Nigerian and has not yet been arrested.
The victim reported the assault to Aikuma Police Station, where the other three victims were rescued and the suspect was arrested.
Prosecutors said the matter and the case file were then forwarded to the anti-trafficking unit at CID headquarters for further investigation.
During the investigation, Husseini admitted to collecting the victims and transporting them from Nigeria to Ghana.
Prosecutors said Mr. Husseini and Mr. Grate also admitted to assaulting their victims whenever they violated house rules, but denied hiring them for Internet fraud.
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