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, who delivered the judgment on Thursday, imposed five years’ imprisonment on each defendant on the first count and two and a half years on the second count. However, she ordered that both sentences should run concurrently and take effect from the respective dates of their arrests.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Cross River Command, said the couple had arranged to hand over their child to a prospective buyer in exchange for N800,000.
According to the agency, the planned transaction was uncovered after the intended buyer alerted it, leading to an intervention that stopped the sale.
NAN reports that the defendants pleaded guilty to the two-count charge filed against them on October 12. They were subsequently arraigned on November 3.
The offences contravene Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
