Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High
Court, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday ordered
the extradition of one Franca Asemota, a
Nigerian fugitive whose extradition was
sought by the United Kingdom for offences
bordering on trafficking of minors.
Ms. Asemota, 36, is wanted by the UK
government for trafficking of minors to
Europe through London.
She was accused of allegedly organising a
network that trafficked young women, mostly
teenagers, from remote Nigerian villages into
Europe using Heathrow airport as transit hub.
The girls were promised education or jobs
such as hairdressing in countries, including
France and Spain, but were forced into
prostitution.
Ms. Asemota was arrested by operatives of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
on March 24, 2015, in Benin, Edo State on
suspicion of money laundering offences.
On arrest, checks on her profile revealed that
she had been on the wanted list of the
National Crime Agency of the UK.
When the case came up on Monday, January
11, Ms. Asemota’s counsel, Ugochukwu
Ezekiel, prayed the court to grant his client
bail to enable her seek medical attention as
she had spent almost a year in custody.
But Akuta Pius Ukeyima, from the office of
the Attorney General of the Federation,
however opposed the application, saying it
would be better to ask for a short date for
ruling on the substantive matter.
Consequently, Justice Kafarati adjourned to
Wednesday (today) for ruling.
At the resumerd sitting, Justice Kafarati
granted the extradition request and ordered
that the accused be extradited to the United
Kingdom to face trial for the charges filed
against her.
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