Eight Nigerians have been sentenced to death in Sharjah, United Arab Emirate (UAE), for robbery crimes committed in December 2016.

The sentence is coming less than three weeks after five Nigerians, who allegedly robbed a bureau de change in Sharjah, were arrested.

According to Gulf News, an online platform in UAE, Majid Al Muhairi of Sharjah criminal court delivered the verdict after the suspects were found guilty of carrying out a string of armed robbery attacks at money exchanges and cash machines across the emirate in 2016.

A total of 20 suspects were initially held for attacking security guards in four violent attacks staged to ambush security trucks that were transporting money boxes to and from automated teller machines (ATMs), and money exchanges across Sharjah.

The gang was all said to be in the country on visit visas.

Out of 20 suspects, nine were convicted while eight were sentenced to death. The ninth man was sentenced to six months in prison followed by deportation for possession of stolen money.

They were said to have made away with over Dh1,700,000, a sum of which only a portion has been recovered, as the convicts had reportedly divided the money among themselves and transferred it to Nigeria.

Mohammed Rimi, Nigerian ambassador to UAE, had said a total of 446 Nigerians are currently serving different terms in the emirates for crimes ranging from possession of hard drugs to engaging in robbery.

Eleven Nigerians, eight women and three men, were arrested in Turin, Italy on Friday for allegedly luring Nigerian women to Italy with the promise of a better life and then forcing them into prostitution to pay back the 25,000 euro a head debt they had contracted.

The young women were subjected to voodoo rites before crossing the desert to Libya and the sea to the island of Lampedusa and being moved to migrant reception centres where the gang picked them up, police said.

Nigerian teenagers and young women selling sex is a common sight for motorists in Italy, Ansa English reports.

Working along roadsides and secondary highways in cities big and small, they are a reminder that while Italy has been successful in curbing immigration from Libya, it has largely failed to help a fraction of the migrants trafficked as sex slaves.

Officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), have reportedly raided a popular night club in Abuja, Caramelo, and arrested 34 female nude dancers.

During the raid on Wednesday night, the front perimeter fence of the nightclub, which is located at Utako district of Abuja, was also demolished, an official said.

Addressing journalists on Thursday, the Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Umar Shuaibu, said the FCTA Joint Task Team, which comprises of the Department of Development Control, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and the Social Development Secretariat (SDS) stormed the premises of the night club.

“In response to security reports and complaints from the residents of area adjoining the location of Caramelo Night Club on plot 630 Cadastral zone B05 along T.O.S Benson Street within Utako District, the relevant authority deployed its officers to carry out surveillance in order to validate the complaints.

“The outcome of the surveillance revealed that the complaints are genuine and real. Please note that the substance of these complaints include, noise nuisance from loud party music, nude/strip dancing club activities intractable traffic challenge, resulting from uncontrolled patronage to the commercial nightclub within the residential precinct,” he said.

Mr Shuaibu said the plot “under reference is zoned as Health Clinic on the Utako District Landuse Plan, and in line with this plan , the building plan approval granted was for the development of the health clinic”.

“Accordingly, the property was developed as a health clinic however, the use of the building has been changed to a commercial night club (Caramelo Night Club),” he said.

Mr Shuaibu noted the authority has repeatedly engaged with the operator of Caramelo and ‘other operators’ on the need to stop their operations but all to no avail.

He assured the public that his department will continue to ensure the city remains a safe place for living, working and recreating.

‘High calibre arrest’
Also, Acting Secretary, Social Development Secretariat (SDS), Safiya Umar, said the owner of the club would be punished according to the law, “considering the calibre of girls arrested.”

Mrs Umar said the preliminary investigation showed that the nude dancers were from wealthy homes.

She said some of them were married and have children.

She said the dancers have been taken to Wuse General Hospital for medical checkup, after which they would be taken to FCT rehabilitation centre in Lugbe, where they will stay for three months.