Ms Asemota, 36, is wanted by the UK government over allegations she is involved in the trafficking of minors to Europe through London. She is 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.
These girls were promised education or jobs, such as hairdressing in countries including France and Spain but were forced into prostitution upon reaching Europe. Ms Asemota lives in Nigeria but the long arm of the law caught up with her when she was arrested by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in March 2015 in Benin, the Edo State capital, on suspicion of money laundering offences.
Following her arrest, checks on her profile revealed that, she had been on the wanted list of the British National Crime Agency (NCA). Upon being informed of her arrest, Britain subsequently filed an extradition request and at the final hearing of the case Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court authorised her deportation.
When the case came up on Monday, January 11, 2016, 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. However, the office of the attorney general 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 this year for a 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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