Justice Geraldine Imadegbelo of a Benin High Court, Criminal Division on Thursday remanded a 34-year-old Efoghe Osamudiamen to Oko Correctional Centre for alleged sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old girl in Benin.
Imadegbelo remanded the suspect till May 10, 2023, when the case would come up for further mention.
The remand was a sequel to an exparte motion brought before the court by the Benin Zonal office of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons on a two-court.
Efoghe was charged with alleged procurement of the victim for sexual exploitation contrary to Section 16 (1) of the Trafficking Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
The suspect was said to have in 2018 procured the girl (who is now 19) for sexual exploitation while she was 14.
He was said to have procured the victim for pornographic performance contrary to Section 17 of Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration.
Counsel for the agency, Victoria Aburoh, told the court that a friend of the victim on April 13, reported to NAPTIP that the victim was sexually exploited by the suspect.
She added that the suspect subsequently used her for pornographic performance and uploaded the video on the Internet.
She also said the victim then narrated her ordeal with the suspect and petitioned NAPTIP Benin Command that the suspect procured the victim for himself and started having canal knowledge of her from the age of 14 years.
The counsel, however, prayed the court to grant an order granting the detention of the suspect in a correctional centre pending the conclusion of the investigation.
In her ruling, Justice Imadegbelo ordered the remand of the suspect at Oko Correctional Centre for two weeks.
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