An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a man, Bassey Edem Akpan, to five years’ imprisonment for his involvement in the stealing and trafficking of a child.
Akpan was one of six persons accused of conspiring to steal the child, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State, and selling him multiple times across different states in 2019.
The child was reportedly first sold in Abia State for N100,000 before being moved to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where the price rose to N300,000 and later N400,000.
The trafficking syndicate subsequently took the child to Abuja, where he was sold for N1m.
Akpan stood trial alongside five other defendants. However, his co-defendants absconded after being granted bail, leaving him as the only accused person to face the full trial.
The case initially commenced in Itu and later moved through Ibiono Ibom before being transferred to Uyo, where proceedings began afresh.
In his judgment on Friday, Justice Okon Okon held that the prosecution had established its case against Akpan and found him guilty of child stealing.
The judge subsequently sentenced him to five years in prison, with the sentence taking effect from the date of judgment.
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