Ifeanyi Kelvin Okorogu who attempted to sell a three-day-old baby has been sentenced to three years in prison.
The 31-year-old was arrested in December by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). He was sentenced last Thursday by the Federal High Court sitting in Calabar.
The charge sheet signed by Unimwen Aigbeze, of NAPTIP accused Okorogu of trying to sell the baby of a 16-year-old girl to Angela Tokees Nwaelechi, on December 1, 2017. The offence is punishable under Section 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
Justice Inyang Ekwo sentenced Okorogu to two years on the first count and one year on the second. He said both sentences would run concurrently.
Okorogu’s lawyer Cosmos Obinna urged the court to temper justice with mercy, The Nation reports. He said the accused was a first-time offender, with no criminal record. The lawyer pleaded that Okorogo has an unemployed wife, two children and an aged mother, who will suffer if he is incarcerated. He said Okorogu had learnt from his mistake and would not commit such again.
