A pregnant mother-of-two has been remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of a human trafficking charge.
Precious Izekor, 25, of Castlereagh Place, Belfast, has been charged with requiring another person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
She was led into the dock at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning after being arrested in Scotland on Tuesday.
She indicated that she understood the charge when it was put to her.
Izekor’s court appearance comes days after her husband, Osarobo Izekor, 33, of the same address, was the first person to be charged with such an offence in Northern Ireland.
The alleged offence spanned the months between December 2016 and September 2017.
On Friday morning, the court heard that Izekor is a naturalised UK citizen who is originally from Sierra Leone, and has family in Nigeria.
She had been at her mother’s address in Scotland when she was arrested.
A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective said he believes he can connect Izekor with the charge.
He told the court that, if found guilty, police believe she will face a lengthy custodial sentence.
Opposing bail, the detective voiced concerns of a flight risk, telling the court the defendant has access to £18,000.
He also said police believe Izekor would attempt to interfere with witnesses, and to make contact with the victim – described as a vulnerable adult – or the victim’s relatives.
He added that the victim and the two accused were from “different ends of the social scale”.
“The victim has family in Nigeria, from an extremely poor and impoverished background,” he said, adding that the victim fears they were transferred from one family to another and fears being taken back to Nigeria and to poverty.
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Izekor’s defence barrister revealed to the court that the defendant is currently pregnant and is the mother of two children.
He said she denies the allegations, adding that she has limited knowledge of any relationship between her in-laws and the complainant.
Making an application for bail, the barrister suggested a number of safeguards, including a curfew, electronic tagging, reporting to police and passport surrender.
However, district judge Fiona Bagnall denied bail and instead remanded Izekor in custody to appear again on May 31.
The husband and wife were arrested after a lengthy investigation by the PSNI’s Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
