- A Gambian court ordered a month's jail term for 37 Senegalese illegal migrants that had tried embarking for Spain, after they were proven guilty to the charges brought against them.
The youths, who appeared before Magistrate Amina Saho of Bundung, about 10 kilometres from the Gambian capital Banjul, pleaded guilty of illegally trying to use Gambian waters in their bid to reach Spain.
The prosecution argued that illegal migration using Gambian waters violates Section 222 of the Criminal Code.
The youths were arrested by Gambian security agents last week when they had already boarded a ship in their quest to travel to Spain's Canary Islands without valid papers.
The court was informed that security agents had found Senegalese documents under the possession of the would-be immigrants, who each had paid an illegal travel agent about euro 800 to facilitate their trip to Europe. "The said travel agent is still at large," prosecutors told the court.
Lawyer Lamin Mboge, who held brief for the accused persons, asked the court to temper justice with mercy because "my clients are first offenders."
In her judgment, Magistrate Saho decided to send the Senegalese to prison for a month. She also ordered for their deportation - back to Senegal - immediately after serving their prison term in The Gambia.
The development came on the heels of a cooperation agreement the Spanish government had earlier signed with some countries in West Africa, including The Gambia. Under the deal, Spanish provides financial support to the countries that will guard their waters so that they are not used by illegal emigrants to sail through Span.
Of late, illegal migration has become unbecoming in West Africa, particularly Senegal, where a lot of youths embark on dangerous sea trips to Europe in search of greener pastures. A large part of the emigrants have drowned during the attempt.
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