By Frank Ulom
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – A husband and wife, Esther Ini Udo and Eyo Stephen Udo, have been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for human trafficking in Calabar, Cross River State.
In suit No: FHC/CA/19C/2025 between the Federal Government of Nigeria vs Esther Ini Udo and Eyo Stephen Udo, the court frowned at the duo for selling their babies to a trafficker for monetary reward.
According to Leadership, the convicts were charged with a four-count charge bordering on buying and selling of babies for exploitation, contrary to Sections 13(4)(a)(c) & (e), 21 and 27 of the TIPPEA Act, 2015.
The court heard that the first convict, Esther Ini Udo, sold her newborn baby to one Oluchi Judith, now at large, for ₦300,000.
The two convicts also bought a year-old baby boy for ₦150,000 from Blessing and Uduak (both convicts) and resold the baby to Oluchi Judith for ₦400,000.
Hon. Justice L.I. Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Calabar, sentenced the first convict, 32-year-old Esther Ini Udo, to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of ₦2 million on counts 1, 2, and 3.
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The sentence will run concurrently with effect from April 1, 2026, the date of judgment whereas the second convict, 34-year-old Eyo Stephen Udo, will also serve a 15-year jail term with a ₦2 million fine.
Converseer reports that the conviction was secured by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Meanwhile, the court ordered NAPTIP to arrest Oluchi Judith and bring her before the court for prosecution, citing her involvement in several human trafficking cases.
