A NIGERIAN traditional chief, his wife and four others have become the first to be charged under a new law against sex trafficking, a newspaper reported on Sunday. Chief Saka Omo-Lawal Osula, a prominent chief in Benin City, appeared in court last Tuesday alongside his wife and the four others, the newspaper National Interest said. They were charged with aiding and abetting prostitution and the trafficking of women to Europe, the newspaper said. Benin City, an ancient city in southern Nigeria, is the centre of a major sex trade operating in the country. More than 90% of Nigerian women arrested in Europe on prostitution charges come from in or around the city, capital of Edo State. Often those arrested had been duped into believing they would be given jobs in factories or as hairdressers or office workers on arrival in Europe. Once there, they were forced to work as prostitutes. The Edo State assembly last year passed legislation specifically aimed at tackling the trade by going after the organisers. – AFP