By Christian Njoku
The Federal High Court, Calabar, on Thursday sentenced a couple to five years imprisonment 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 convicted on two counts bordering on conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
Delivering judgement on the matter,
Justice Rosemary Oghogjorie who presided over the case, convicted both defendants on the two counts.
Oghogjorie said each convict would serve a five years imprisonment on count one and two and a half years on count two, with both sentences running concurrently.
She further ordered that the sentences should commence from their respective dates of arrest.
According to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Cross River Command, the couple had attempted to sell their son, identified as Godstime Ogbodo, to a third party for N800,000.
The agency noted that it was tipped off by the intended buyer, who reported the transaction, prompting the agency’s intervention, which led to the interception of the proposed sale.
The News Agency of Nigeria NAN reports that the convicts pleaded guilty to the two-count charge filed on Oct. 12, 2026, and were arraigned on Nov. 3, 2026.
They were charged under Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
