A married couple face charges of human trafficking after illegally provide the means for two women (aged 22 and 29) to enter the country then forcing them to work as prostitutes.
Lizzy Idahosa (23) and her husband Jackson Omoruyi (41) of Brockley South London appeared in Cardiff Crown Court, where it was heard that they scared the two women (who cannot be named for legal reasons) into becoming prostitutes by using ‘juju’.
The women, one of whom paid the couple over £45,000 in order to come to the UK from Nigeria to find her father, were forced to take part in a ‘juju’ ceremony, which included eating snails, snakes and dust, in order to secure their ticket to the UK.
This was then used to scare the women into working as prostitutes in brothels and massage parlours, while the couple pocketed whatever money was made (over £40,000), as they believed that if they did not comply they would ‘go insane or die’.
“The couple were involved in the exploitation of two women brought into the UK from Nigeria to work as prostitutes,” prosecutor Caroline Reese said. “They were bound to this by something called a juju ritual. It was a ceremonial ritual used to full effect to terrify both women into doing what was demanded of them.
It was used to ensure compliance, secrecy, and they believed if they broke the bond dire consequences would follow: illness, madness, infertility or death. They genuinely believed the powers would work.’
The two women were discovered after an immigration raid on a massage parlour in Cardiff. Idahosa and Omoruyi were later arrested at their home in Brockley.
Idahosa, who is pregnant and currently living on benefits, claims that she herself was a victim of human trafficking after partaking in a juju ritual. She faces seven charges including trafficking for prostitution and moving criminal property which she denies.
Omoruyi is facing three charges, including inciting the women to become prostitutes, which he also denies.
