The convicts are Victoria John-Barile, Jennifer Osuji, and Ugochukwu Okere.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted Emmanuel Onyebuchi on three counts of conspiracy, abduction, and trafficking of the toddler.
Chief Magistrate, Rita Oguguo, in her judgment, said the prosecution was able to prove its case that the convicts conspired on April 14, 2020, at the Umuojiohi community in the Afara clan in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, to abduct and traffick a baby.
Chief Magistrate Oguguo also insisted that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Victoria John-Barile, Jennifer Osuji, and Ugochukwu Okere conspired and sold the child to Chinyere and Chioma for N500,000.
The Chief Magistrate, while ordering the Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, to commence a search on Jennifer Osuji to commence her sentence, said the sentences of those convicted are to run concurrently starting from the day they were remanded in prison.
Our correspondent reports that Chief Magistrate Oguguo also referred counsel for the second defendant in the matter,
B.O. Egbuawa, to the Legal Practitioner Disciplinary Council for investigation and disciplinary action for facilitating the release from bail and escape of his client (Jennifer Osuji).
Egbuawa is reported to have secured the bail of Osuji from a high court after he failed every administration attempt at the Magistrate Court.
Osuji later stopped attending the trial, and her lawyer also stopped appearing in court.
The Lagos State Police Command, in January 2024, arrested a suspected kingpin of child trafficking and labour syndicate after three months of intelligence gathering. https://punchng.com/police-arrest-suspected-human-trafficking-kingpin-in-lagos/
Child trafficking is a heinous crime involving the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation.
This exploitation can take various forms, including forced labour, sexual exploitation, child marriage, forced begging, or involvement in armed conflict.
Child trafficking often prey on vulnerable children, such as those from impoverished backgrounds, displaced populations, or marginalized communities.
Traffickers use various tactics to deceive, coerce, or force children into exploitative situations, exploiting their vulnerability for profit or personal gain.
