By Praise Chinecherem
A 35-year old woman has been sentenced to prison by Children, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Magistrate Court sitting in Awka over Child Labor, Abduction of children and Child Stealing.
The convict Success James, was tried in an 8-count charge and was found guilty of seven charges by the court.
Delivering the judgement, Chief Magistrate, Genevieve Osakwe found the convict guilty in count 1 and sentenced her to five years imprisonment, count 2 five years, count 3- two years, count 4-four years, count 5- two years, count 7- two years and count 8- one year prison term respectively.
She added that all sentences were to run concurrently with no option of fine.
The convict was apprehended in Onitsha and arraigned before the magistrate court in Awka last December for allegedly abducting four teenage girls from Ákwá Ibom and using them for child labor.
The victims, aged 15, 14, 15 and 13 years respectively were rescued by Commissioner for Women and Social welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo two days to Christmas.
They had confessed being taken by one Auntie Success who claimed she had job opportunity for them in Agbor, Delta state where they would be selling drinks, but later discovered the so-called job was prostitution.
Reacting to the news, Commissioner Obinabo expressed joy over the judgement, revealing the children had not only been enrolled in school, but had started learning skills of their choice at the Skills Acquisition Center, Awka.
She warned that the state would not tolerate such crime, assuring continued justice for children and women in the state.
