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From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
A Chief Magistrate Court has sentenced a 32-year-old woman, Blessing Stephen, to 10 years imprisonment, for selling a year-and- seven-months baby in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The court has also slammed 12 months punishment of sweeping the court room and dusting the furniture on the mother of the baby, for conspiring and selling her daughter for N200,000.
Chief Magistrate Amaka Amanze delivered the judgement yesterday, an incident which occurred in December, 2018, in Rumukalagbor, Obio/Akpor Local government area of the state.
Blessing Stephen was the second defendant in the matter. She was charged alongside 21-year-old Abigail Udo, the mother of the baby.
The court sentenced Stephen to three years imprisonment for conspiracy and seven years for child trafficking, an offence punishable under Section 27 (2)(B)(C) of Child Rights Act, Cap 50 LFN 2003.
It (court) also said that the second defendant (Stephen) was an unrepentant and hardened liar.
On the mother of the child, Udo, who was the first defendant, the court discharged her, but gave an order that she must report to the court three times a week.
The court said Udo would sweep and dust the furniture of the court room for one year as her punishment, noting that from the beginning of the matter, she (Udo) showed reasonable remorse for selling her child.
Udo told the court that she was deceived to believe that her child would be taken to the orphanage since she had no financial strength or support to cater for her child.
The court noted that prosecution proved that the first defendant was actually deceived to sell her baby and was given only N20,000, while the balance was not given to her till date.
