Woman who ran prostitution ring extradited from Nigeria to Italy

A Nigerian woman who has been wanted in Italy since 2010 has been flown from Abuja back to Rome where she has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes including running a prostitution ring, Italian police said on Wednesday.

Joy Jeff, who is 48, was one of the few women on Italy's most-wanted list, police said in a statement, describing her as a prominent figure in the Nigerian mafia.

The extradition was facilitated by a treaty signed by Nigeria and Italy in 2020. She was arrested in Nigeria on June 4, 2022, on an international warrant issued by Italy, the statement said.

Italian investigators in the eastern city of Ancona said Jeff played a leading role in trafficking women to Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, where they were forced into prostitution by violence and threats. She has been convicted in her absence.

Video released by the Italian police showed the woman being flown from the Nigerian capital Abuja to Ciampino airport in Rome where she was taken away in a wheelchair by police.

"Africa today is a strategic location when looking for fugitives and fighting organised crime," said Vittorio Rizzi, an Italian police chief responsible for international coordination. 

By Keith Weir, Reuters

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Oil pipeline blast kills at least one in Nigeria

A crude oil pipeline explosion killed at least one person and injured another on Friday, authorities on the scene said, while members of the affected community in Emohua said they feared many more had died in the blast.

Garuba Yabuku, civil defence spokesman for Emohua, in Rivers State, the heart of Africa's biggest oil industry, said the incident was reported around 4:30 a.m.

"The pipeline was gutted by fire. We are not sure the number of casualties but a lady was rescued and body burnt. We are still on rescue operations," he said at the scene, where the fire was still blazing from the pipeline next to five burned out vehicles flanked by a palm forest.

"Many people got burnt inside the fire, males and females. It could be up to 15 in number," community leader Ogbonna Francis told Reuters at the scene.

Oil theft and pipeline sabotage are common in the southern oil production heartland of Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer. The methods used to steal oil often result in accidents that cause fires.

In 2018, a similar disaster killed 60 people.

By Tife Owolabi, Reuters

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