A LAGOS Chief Magistrate’ Court yesterday adjourned the alleged human trafficking case involving a 45-year-old woman, Martina Adebayo, to October 29, 2026, for mention.
The defendant was earlier granted bail on June 9,2026, by Magistrate Lateef Owolabi in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties, each of whom must provide evidence of ownership landed property. The matter had initially been adjourned to July 16, 2026, for trial.
Adebayo
was arrested on June 1,2026, and transferred to the Gender Unit of the Lagos
State Police Command for investigation into the alleged offences.
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According
to police investigations, the defendant’s daughter, Tosin Adebayo, also known
as Tosin Moses and currently at large, allegedly lured a 16-year-old girl,
identified as Hannah (surname withheld), to Libya in February 2026, where she
was allegedly forced into prostitution.
Police
said operatives visited Adamo, Ikorodu, on June 1 to arrest the suspects but
only found Martina Adebayo, who was allegedly preparing to travel to Libya
alongside the victim.
Investigators further alleged that Adebayo specialised in recruiting young
girls, inviting them to her residence in Adamo before taking them to her
mother’s home at Lucky Fibre, Itokin Road, Ikorodu, where arrangements are
allegedly made to transport them out of Nigeria.
The
victim, who had been living with her father in Okonron, Adamo, Ikorodu, was
allegedly lured by Tosin in late January 2026.
She reportedly travelled through Ghana before arriving in Libya in February
2026, from where she later escaped and returned to Nigeria on May 27, 2026.
According
to the charge filed by the police in the case between the Commissioner of
Police and the defendant, Adebayo and her daughter allegedly conspired to
traffic young girls for prostitution.
The charge alleged that between February and March 2026, at No. 12 New Era
Street, Parata, Ikorodu, Lagos, the defendant and her daughter conspired to
harbour and traffic three girls from Ikorodu to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for the
purpose of prostitution, contrary to Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos
State, 2015.
During
the earlier proceedings, the prosecuting counsel, Adegoke Philip, urged the
court to remand the defendant for 30 days pending legal advice from the
Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
However, defence counsel, Raji Lateef, opposed the application and sought bail,
arguing that the defendant was not a flight risk and would be available for
trial.
During
yesterday’s proceedings, defence counsel, Ayo Odekunle, maintained that Adebayo
was innocent and had no involvement in the alleged trafficking.
In response, the prosecuting counsel informed the court that the victims were
present.
The magistrate then
invited one of the victims for a brief questioning before calling the
Investigating Police Officer, Bunmi Adejobi, to testify.
After listening to all the parties, Kusanu asked why the suspect was granted
bail on June 9, and then adjourned the matter to October 29, 2026 for mention.
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