A Federal High Court in Calabar, Cross River State, has sentenced a couple to five years’ imprisonment each for conspiring to sell their one-year-old son for exploitation.

The convicts, Emmanuel Okechukwu Ogbodo, 28, and Peace Ufeabuchi Nnamonu, 22, were sentenced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after pleading guilty to a two-count charge of conspiracy and attempting to sell their child.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) announced the conviction in separate posts on its Facebook and X accounts.

Court sentences couple

Justice Rosemary Dugbo Oghoghorie, who presided over the case at the Federal High Court, Calabar Judicial Division, sentenced each convict to five years’ imprisonment on the first count and two and a half years on the second count.

However, the sentences are to run concurrently, meaning the couple will each serve a five-year term rather than seven and a half years.

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NAPTIP stated that the sentences would take effect from the date of their arrest.

Convicted under anti-trafficking law

The couple were convicted under Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.

According to the agency, they were arraigned on November 3, 2026, and convicted eight days later.

NAPTIP described the case as a conspiracy and attempt by the couple to sell their one-year-old son for exploitation.

The agency reiterated its campaign against human trafficking and urged Nigerians to reject the practice.