CaseLaw
Omokuwajo Vs. FRN (2013) CLR 3(h) (SC)
Judgement delivered on March 8th 2013
Brief
Facts
This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal; Sokoto Division (court below) delivered on 10th November, 2010. Therein, the conviction of the appellant by the Federal High Court, Sokoto (trial court) for offences under Sections 15 (a) and 16 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 (as amended) was affirmed. The court below, in affirming the conviction of the appellant, also varied her sentence, suo motu by increasing it from two years in respect of each count to run concurrently from the date of the appellant's arrest as ordered by the trial court to 7 and 5 years respectively, also to run concurrently from the date of the appellant's arrest which was on 21/02/2010,
The facts leading to this appeal are not in dispute. The appellant was arrested by Officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (Anti-Human Trafficking Unit) on February 21, 2010 at Yauri in Kebbi State of Nigeria. She was handed over to Officers of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) on February 23, 2010.
The appellant was thereafter arraigned on a six (6) count charge before the trial court on 16th March, 2010 for offences touching on human trafficking contrary to Sections 15(a) and 16 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 (as amended). As extant on page 25 of the records, the appellant, on 16th March, 2010 pleaded guilty to all the six counts after the court noted at page 25 of the record thus;- 'Charge read to accused who understand it and pleaded as follow.' She was consequently summarily found guilty, convicted and sentenced to two (2) years imprisonment on each of the six counts contained in the charge; with an order that sentence should run concurrently with effect from the date of the appellant's arrest.
The appellant felt dissatisfied and appealed to the court below which dismissed the appeal as lacking merit. The conviction was affirmed. The learned justices of the court below, suo motu, varied the appellant's sentence to seven (7) and five (5) years imprisonment to run concurrently from the date of the appellant's arrest (21-2-2010).
The appellant felt unhappy with the stance of the court below and appealed to this court