The couple had attempted to bribe a government official to get her to discontinue the case after they initially went into hiding.
The Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Magistrate Court in Anambra State, Wednesday, remanded a woman for allegedly trafficking five underage girls for prostitution in the state.
The woman, Ekpereamaka Okonkwo and her husband, Okechukwu Okonkwo, were arrested on 27 June in Awka, the state capital.
Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Ms Ikeanyionwu said the suspects were arraigned on nine counts, including official corruption, prevention of course of justice and procurement of underage girls for prostitution.
The statement said the offences are punishable under Section 495 (a) of the Criminal Code CAP 36 VOL 11 of the revised laws of Anambra State of Nigeria 1991.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the suspects attempted to bribe the commissioner to get her to discontinue the case after they initially went into hiding.
Mrs Obinabo, who facilitated the arrest of the suspects, had told this newspaper that Mrs Okonkwo owned a shanty brothel in Oba Community where she usually kept underage girls she trafficked from various communities for prostitution.
Oba is a community in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.
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The suspects hail from Otolo Nnewi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.
Court hearing
During the court hearing on Wednesday, the nine counts were read and interpreted to the defendants, who pleaded not guilty to all the nine-count charge, according to the statement.
The court consequently remanded them at two different correctional centres located in Awka and Onitsha - all in the state.
It further adjourned the hearing until 12 July for ruling on a bail application filed by the defendants through their lawyer.
Prohibited in Nigeria
Nigeria in 2015 enacted the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act which outlawed all acts of human trafficking in the country, including trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The Act prescribes a minimum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of N1 million for trafficking relating to sex and labour exploitation.
Several persons have been convicted for similar offences across the country.
The Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Magistrate Court in Awka, Anambra State, in February, convicted a 35-year-old woman who trafficked and forced four teenage girls into prostitution.
A Federal High Court in Benin, Edo State, in 2018, sentenced 49-year-old Ehie Ehirobo to three years imprisonment for human trafficking. Mrs Ehirobo was convicted for procuring persons for prostitution, among other crimes.
