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The Federal High Court in Calabar, Cross River State, has sentenced a couple to five years in prison each for attempting to sell their one-year-old son for N800,000.
The convicts, Emmanuel Okechukwu Ogbodo, 28, and Peace Ufeabuchi Nnamonu, 22, were found guilty of conspiracy and attempted child trafficking. Justice Rosemary Oghoghorie delivered the judgment, sentencing both defendants on the two charges.
The judge sentenced each defendant to five years’ imprisonment on the first count and two and a half years on the second count. However, she ordered that both sentences should run concurrently, meaning the convicts will serve the longer five-year term.
Justice Oghoghorie further directed that the prison terms should take effect from the respective dates the defendants were arrested.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Cross River State Command, said the couple had attempted to sell their one-year-old child to a third party for N800,000. The agency disclosed that the planned transaction was uncovered after the intended buyer reported the matter.
Following the tip-off, NAPTIP intervened and stopped the proposed sale, leading to the arrest and prosecution of the couple. The defendants subsequently pleaded guilty to the two-count charge filed against them on October 12, before their arraignment on November 3.
The charges were brought under Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015. The conviction and sentences followed the defendants’ guilty pleas before the Federal High Court in Calabar.
