A Port Harcourt Magistrate Court has convicted and sentenced one Blessing Stephen to ten years imprisonment for conspiracy and child trafficking.
Stephen who is a second defendant in the matter was charged alongside Abigail Monday who is the first defendant and mother of the victim for conspiring and selling her one year and seven months old baby at the sum of two hundred thousand naira.
While the court ordered that Abigail Monday must report herself to court three times a week to sweep and dust the furniture in the court room for one year as punishment, having shown remorse in the cause of trial and also proving that she was misled into the deal to sell her own child, the court convicted and sentenced Stephen for ten years.
The Presiding Magistrate, Chief Magistrate Felicitas Amanze, in her judgement described Stephen as unrepentant and a hardened liar.
She said the prosecution was able to prove that she actually deceived the first defendant to sell the baby, gave her twenty thousand naira and never gave her the balance till date.
The Chief Magistrate said the three years in count one and seven years in count two must run consecutively.
