A Tarkwa Circuit Court has sentenced 32-year-old Nigerian national Patience Gold, also known as Gold, to 20 years in prison for trafficking four young Nigerian women into Ghana and forcing them into prostitution.
The court, presided over by Judge Hathia Ama Manu, found Gold guilty on four counts: human trafficking, illegal abortion, assault, and engaging in prostitution. She was sentenced to 20 years for human trafficking, five years for illegal abortion, and two months each for assault and prostitution. However, all the sentences will run concurrently, meaning she will serve a maximum of 20 years.
According to the prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Samuel Ahiabor, Gold lured the victims from Benue State, Nigeria, to Ghana in March 2025 under the guise of offering them jobs as bar attendants at her drinking spot in Asankra-Moscaso. Upon arrival, the women were instead coerced into sex work.
ASP Ahiabor told the court that when the victims initially resisted, Gold forcibly shaved their pubic hair, removed their fingernails, and compelled them to swear an oath meant to instill fear. “The victims refused to work, and the accused forcibly and under duress shaved their pubic hair, removed their fingernails, and made them swear an oath that if they failed to work as commercial sex workers to repay the money she claimed to have spent on them, they would go mad,” he stated.
One of the victims, who was already pregnant when she arrived in Ghana, informed Gold of her condition. On March 28, 2025, Gold administered a herbal concoction to induce an illegal abortion.
In another disturbing development, a victim who became ill was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. In an attempt to conceal the diagnosis from the local community, Gold relocated the victim to another town but continued to force her into prostitution and collect the earnings.
On March 25, 2025, when Gold visited the victim to collect money, she was displeased with the GH¢300 she was given and assaulted the woman, inflicting a facial injury. “She also seized the victim’s HIV/AIDS medication supplied by the hospital and left,” ASP Ahiabor added.
The victims eventually escaped and reported the abuse to the Asankrangwa Police. This led to Gold’s arrest and subsequent trial.
The case has drawn strong public condemnation and highlighted the growing concern over human trafficking and exploitation across West Africa.
