The trial of the three siblings, who allegedly recruited 10 women from the Greater Accra and Northern Regions to Nigeria and compelled them to engage in prostitution, began in camera on Monday at an Accra Circuit Court. This was after the court had ruled that it was not bound to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for interpretation if the answer to the case was clear and unambiguous. According to the Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, sending the case to the Supreme Court would halt proceedings before it as there were other cases pending before the Supreme Court. Defence counsel Mr Ali Abdul Samad on February 9, prayed the Circuit Court to stay proceedings following some inconsistencies in the Human Trafficking Act and the Constitution. According to Mr Samad, Sub-section 2 of Section 1 of the Human Trafficking Act was inconsistent with Article 19 (11) of the Constitution. He said the court would therefore need to seek the interpretation of the Supreme Court. In addition, the current definition in the Human Trafficking Act of induced prostitution, servitude and exploitation was not properly defined. The court therefore needed to seek interpretation from the Supreme Court, he said. Due to the development, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mary Agbozo told the court that she would relay the information to the Office of the Attorney General for their response. ASP Agbozo told the court on Monday that after contacting the Director for Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Gertrude Aikins, she (the DPP) asked the Police to forward a duplicate to her office. According to ASP Agbozo, the DPP stated that the defence counsel should file a motion on the legal issues raised so that the court could rule on the matter. On January 31, this year two of the 10 women opted for an out of court settlement, but the failure of this option was made known after the case was heard in chambers. The two were expected to testify in chambers, but a source close to the court told journalists that some elders in the Northern Region had agreed on a package to compensate all the victims since they and the accused person were from the same family. The content of the package was, however, not made known. The accused persons - Fati Abubakari, Memuna Abubakari and Zenabu Abubakari - all traders, are facing 12 counts of conspiracy and human trafficking. Zenabu is facing an additional charge of allegedly convincing one of the victims to leave her matrimonial home in Nanton, in the Northern Region, to Lagos, to engage in prostitution. They all pleaded not guilty and were admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢10,000, with one surety each. Those found guilty under the law are expected to serve at least five years' imprisonment. The case of the prosecution is that the complainant was a staff of the Regional Advocacy Information and Network Systems (RAIN), a Tamale-based NGO, while the accused persons were based in Ghana and Nigeria. ASP Agbozo said on December 28, last year, one of the victims confided in the complainant that about four years earlier, she and other girls were recruited from Agbogboloshie in Accra and Gushiegu in the Northern Region and transported to Nigeria under the pretext of securing them jobs. On their arrival, they were made to sell porridge "kooko" during the day and engaged in prostitution. However, the accused persons after collecting the proceeds declined to pay them for their services, with some of them undergoing a series of illegal abortions. ASP Agbozo said RAIN, therefore, reported the matter to the Police. The prosecutor said police investigations indicated that the accused persons had been "doing this business for 10 years". ASP Agbozo said the accused persons denied the offence but admitted transporting some girls to Nigeria. Hearing continues. Source: GNA