Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the extradition of Franca Asemota, a Nigerian fugitive to the United Kingdom for offences bordering on trafficking of minors.
The court gave the consent to her extradition through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) on Wednesday.
Asemota, 36, was 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 a transit hub.
The girls were promised education or jobs, such as hairdressing in countries including France and Spain, but were forced into prostitution.
However, the long arm of the law caught up with Asemota when she was arrested by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, March 24, 2015 in Benin , Edo State capital 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, NCA.
When the case came up on Monday, January 11, 2016, 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.
Akuta Ukeyima from the office of the AGF, however, opposed the application saying that, it would be better to ask for a short date for ruling on the substantive matter. Consequently, Justice Kafarati adjourned to Wednesday, January 13 for ruling.
At the resumed 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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