Two women identified as Chinaza Smart, 21, and Amarachi Ahukanna,28, were sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment each by a Magistrate’s Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for conspiracy and child trafficking .
According to reports, Chinaza and Ahukanna were found guilty of conspiring to sell the former’s two-year-old son, Daniel to a woman identified as Precious from Anambra State for the sum of N400,000.
In her judgment, the Chief Magistrate, Felicitas Amanze said the two accused persons committed a heinous crime against an innocent child whose whereabouts was still unknown.
According to her, the Ahukanna who introduced Chinaza to the child trafficking business lied to the court that she did not convince her to sell her son in order to raise money to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she could earn N400,000 monthly.
She then ruled that Ahukanna was a chronic and unrepentant child trafficker.
In conclusion, the chief magistrate sentenced the duo to five years on count one of conspiracy and seven years on count two of child trafficking, which would run consecutively.
Speaking to newsmen outside the courtroom, Mrs Esther Acho-Korienta, a legal officer with the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), praised the judgement.
She also expressed the hope that it would serve as a deterrent to other child traffickers.
“The two young ladies conspired to sell the child of the first defendant in the name of travelling to Dubai for business.
The second defendant approached the first defendant that she earned N400,000 monthly in Dubai, that why would she continue suffering under her boyfriend instead of going to Dubai to do the kind of business she was doing.
They sold the two-year-old child to a woman at Ihiala, Anambra State, and till date, the child has not been found.
The second defendant also sold one of her own children in order to also travel to Dubai.” She said.
Credit: PUNCH.
