A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has sentenced two women to 10 and 15 years’ imprisonment respectively for conspiracy, child stealing and trafficking.
The court found the duo, Ada Ebere and Favour Godwin, guilty of stealing and trafficking a four-year-old boy, Uwana Emmanuel, at Umudogo community, Igbo-Etche in 2018.
Delivering judgement, the Chief Magistrate, Felicitas Amanze, convicted Favour Godwin, who is the first defendant in the case to 15 years’ imprisonment on count one to three, to run concurrently, while the third defendant Ada Ebere, was sentenced to 10 years on count four with hard labour.
Amanze discharged and acquitted the second defendant, Kodirichi Nwankwo, who gave birth to a baby boy while at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre during the case trial
The magistrate said the court had pity on the little boy, who was now two years old, saying the court would not further inflict pains on the innocent child for the crime committed by the mother.
The judgement however mandated Nwankwo to sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour and to report to court every month with the baby for two years.
The counsel representing the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Rivers State chapter, Esther Achor-Korienta, said the judgement would serve as a deterrent to those engaging in such crime.
