Couple jailed over attempt to sell one-year-old son for N800,000

The Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, on Thursday, November 12, 2026, sentenced a couple to five years’ imprisonment each for attempting to sell their one-year-old son for N800,000.

The couple, 28-year-old Emmanuel Ogbodo and 22-year-old Peace Nnamonu, were convicted on two counts bordering on conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.

Delivering judgement, Justice Rosemary Oghoghorie convicted both defendants on the two counts and sentenced each to five years’ imprisonment on count one and two and a half years on count two, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Justice Oghoghorie ordered that the sentences should commence from the date of the couple’s arrest.

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The Cross River State Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) disclosed that the couple attempted to sell their one-year-old son to a third party for N800,000.

NAPTIP said it received a tip-off from the intended buyer, who reported the transaction, prompting the agency’s intervention and leading to the interception of the proposed sale.

The couple pleaded guilty to the two-count charge filed on October 12, and were arraigned on November 3, 2026.

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