By: Sainabou Sambou
In a gripping testimony that exposed the dark underbelly of alleged human trafficking, a 23-year-old Nigerian woman told the High Court in Bakau on Thursday that she was lured to The Gambia with promises of a legitimate sales job, only to be forced into prostitution after taking a frightening oath.
Presiding over the case, Justice Omar Cham heard emotional evidence from the first defense witness, Ajibola Shade, also known as “Tubab,” who is the accused in a high-profile human trafficking and prostitution trial.
The State, represented by prosecutor I. Camara has charged Ajibola Shade with six counts, including prohibition of trafficking in persons, trafficking in persons, and living on the earnings of prostitution. Prosecutors allege that she recruited and transported four Nigerian women – Faith Atum Edem, Mercy William Abiri, Anthoney Esther Okon, and Dada Nwakaego – from Nigeria to The Gambia specifically for sexual exploitation.
The women were allegedly received and harbored at an apartment in Senegambia, Kanifing Municipality, where they were forced into prostitution.
Defense counsel Sydney S.O. Kennedy called his client to the witness box, where Ajibola Shade recounted her ordeal in detail. She told the court she arrived in The Gambia in 2022 after being introduced to a woman known as Madam Joy through Madam Joy’s sister, Mama Chindo, in Delta State, Nigeria.
According to her testimony, Mama Chindo informed her that Madam Joy needed a salesgirl for work in The Gambia. Having just completed secondary school with no job and no means to further her education, Shade said she jumped at the opportunity.
“Madam Joy sent money through her sister for my travel documents,” she testified.
“Before I left Nigeria, I was asked to take an oath. She promised that when I reached The Gambia, I would work as a sales girl and earn D10,000 every month.”
Shade said she traveled with two other women, Blessing and Nice. Upon arrival, Madam Joy picked them up from the garage and took them to an apartment in Manjai, where they stayed for three days.
On the third day, the situation took a dramatic turn. “Madam Joy asked me if I knew how to use a condom and then told me that the work I would be doing was prostitution,” Shade stated. “I reminded her that this was not what she had promised me before I came.”
The witness claimed Madam Joy then invoked the oath she had taken in Nigeria, threatening that refusal to comply would cause her to “run mad or die.” Frightened, Shade said she had no choice but to agree. She was subsequently taken to work at Class One, near Bakau Garage in Serekunda.
The young woman further testified that she and the other girls were required to pay a monthly rent of D1,100 and repay D250,000 each for travel and other expenses supposedly incurred by Madam Joy. She said she completed the repayment within six months through earnings from sex work.
After settling the debt, Shade said Madam Joy gave her the option to leave or stay. She chose to remain because she knew no one else in the country. However, staying meant continuing to pay rent and bills.
The defense witness’s testimony painted a picture of deception, coercion, and exploitation that prosecutors have attributed directly to the accused herself.
The matter has been adjourned to Tuesday, 12th May 2026, at 11:00 a.m. for continuation of the hearing.
The case continues to draw significant public attention as it highlights the alleged cross-border trafficking networks operating between Nigeria and The Gambia. Observers say the outcome could have broader implications for efforts to combat human trafficking in the sub-region.
