Nigerian woman jailed in Ghana for trafficking, forcing HIV patient into prostitution

A Ghanaian court has sentenced a 32-year-old Nigerian woman, Patience Gold, to 20 years in prison for trafficking four young women—including one living with HIV—from Nigeria to Ghana for forced prostitution.

According to Graphic Online, the Tarkwa Circuit Court found Gold guilty on four counts: human trafficking, illegal abortion, assault, and prostitution. Presiding Judge Hathia Manu imposed a 20-year sentence for trafficking, five years for illegal abortion, and two months each for assault and prostitution. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning she will serve a maximum of 20 years.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Samuel Ahiabor told the court that Gold lured the victims from Benue State, Nigeria, between March 22 and 27, 2025, under the pretense of offering jobs as bar attendants at her drinking spot, Asanka-Moscato. Upon arrival, however, she coerced them into prostitution.

ASP Ahiabor said that when the women resisted, Gold resorted to cruel tactics to break their will—shaving their pubic hair, removing their fingernails, and forcing them to swear an oath that they would go mad if they refused sex work or failed to repay money she claimed to have spent on them. She confiscated all earnings from the victims.

One of the women, who was pregnant at the time, was forced to ingest a herbal concoction that resulted in an illegal abortion on March 28. Another victim, who later tested positive for HIV/AIDS, was moved to another location by Gold to continue prostitution in secret.

On March 25, Gold assaulted the HIV-positive woman after collecting GH¢300 from her, dissatisfied with the amount. She also seized her antiretroviral medication and left her injured.

Following the assault, the women reported their ordeal to the Asankrangwa Police Station. Gold was arrested and formally charged.

This case follows a similar conviction in 2024, when another Nigerian woman, 40-year-old Rose Ikem, was sentenced by the Asokwa Circuit Court in Kumasi to five years in prison with hard labour for trafficking girls from Nigeria to Ghana for sex work. She was also ordered to pay GHC24,000 in compensation to her four victims.