‘Voodoo’ Nurse Josephine Iyamu Jailed for Sex Trafficking

Josephine Iyamu, the voodoo nurse, forced the five women to swear oaths to hand over money to her during “juju” ceremonies.

It is impossible to have any contact with Africa (or Nigeria) and not hear about stories like this. Heartbreaking stories of young women who are trafficked as sex slaves in Europe. There is always one ‘Madam’ behind the trafficking and they almost always get away with their dastardly deeds. However, this is the first time someone is being convicted of trafficking victims – that we know of anyway.

 

 

Iyamu, 51, formerly of Bermondsey, was convicted of arranging or facilitating travel for sexual exploitation and perverting the course of justice.

She was jailed for 14 years at Birmingham crown Court.

Iyamu became the first British national prosecuted for Modern Slavery Act offences after trafficking victims outside the UK.

She was also convicted of perverting the course of justice while on remand, by arranging for relatives of her victims in Nigeria to be arrested.

The court heard the women were forced to eat chicken hearts, drink blood containing worms, and have powder rubbed into cuts during the rituals.

Sentencing, Judge Richard Bond said the 51-year-old had shown “a complete disregard for the welfare of these women”.

He said she had exposed them to a “real and significant” risk of death as they travelled across the Mediterranean on inflatable boats.

All five women had be rescued from the boat they were on, before being put into a camp in Italy.

“You saw them not as living, breathing human beings but as commodities to earn you large sums of money,” he said.

The Voodoo nurse might have come to justice, but there are so many others like her out there. Greedy, heartless people who trade on the future and lives of hapless victims to live a luxury lifestyle. We look certainly look forward to more convictions like this one.

 

Read more on BBC News