Food Vendor Jailed Seven Years for Human Trafficking and Prostitution
Accra Circuit Court convicts Gift Chinyere Aminu after prosecution links her to forcing two women into prostitution in Ghana and Togo
- Food vendor sentenced to seven years in hard labour
- Convicted over human trafficking and forced prostitution
- Court orders compensation for the victims
The Accra Circuit Court Four has sentenced a 36-year-old food vendor to seven years’ imprisonment in hard labour for human trafficking and prostitution.
The convict, Gift Chinyere Aminu, also known as Joy, is a Nigerian national and commercial sex worker. She denied the charges but was convicted after trial.
According to the prosecution, Aminu lived at Kwame Nkrumah Circle Railways with two other Nigerian women, identified as Jennifer and Blessing, who are currently at large.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Issah Achiburi, who presented the facts to the court, said the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters received the case docket from the Kaneshie Police Station on October 31, 2025.
The prosecution said Aminu was brought before the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit alongside two alleged victims, Jennifer Izi, alias Lovina, and Aissah Mohammed, alias Gold.
The court heard that Izi had earlier informed the complainant, ThankGod Iheme, a Nigerian resident in Accra, that a Nigerian woman had brought them from Togo to Ghana and forced them into prostitution.
She allegedly told Iheme that the woman subjected them to severe beatings whenever they failed to engage in prostitution.
Following investigations, Aminu was re-arrested and reportedly admitted knowing the two victims.
ASP Achiburi told the court that Aminu disclosed that she had lived and worked in Rafineri, a suburb of Lomé, Togo, where she engaged in prostitution.
She allegedly said that while in Togo, she received Izi and Mohammed from Jennifer and Blessing to engage them in prostitution, manage them and collect their earnings for onward transmission to the two women.
The prosecution further alleged that Aminu took the victims to a shrine, where they were made to swear an oath that they would “run mad” if they absconded with her money.
Following a police-led operation in Togo, Aminu reportedly relocated to Ghana with the victims, where she allegedly continued forcing them into prostitution around Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
The court also heard that Izi became pregnant while in Ghana and informed Aminu, who allegedly gave her medication to induce an abortion.
Investigations further established that Aminu collected 300,000 Nigerian naira from Mohammed and 250,000 Nigerian naira from Izi.
After investigations, Aminu was charged and prosecuted.
Presiding Judge Madam Lawrencia Awura Abena Darkowaa Gyamfi subsequently sentenced her to seven years in hard labour and ordered her to compensate the victims.
