A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, has sentenced a couple to a total of 30 years’ imprisonment for engaging in baby trafficking.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday, noting that the convicts, Esther Ini Udo, 32, and Eyo Stephen Udo, 34, were found guilty of offences related to the sale and purchase of children for exploitation.
The agency stated that the duo was prosecuted on a four-count charge under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, in a suit marked FHC/CA/19C/2025, filed on March 19, 2025.
According to NAPTIP, investigations revealed that the first convict sold her newborn baby to a suspect, Oluchi Judith, who remains at large, for N300,000.
It added that the couple also bought a one-year-old boy for N150,000 from two individuals and subsequently resold the child to the same buyer for N400,000.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges during trial.
In his judgment delivered on April 1, 2026, Justice I. Ojukwu sentenced each of the convicts to 15 years in prison, with an option of a N2m fine.
The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently from the date of judgment.
Justice Ojukwu decried the act, warning members of the public to desist from child trafficking and other related offences motivated by financial gain.
He also directed NAPTIP to track down and arrest the alleged buyer, Oluchi Judith, for prosecution.
