Calabar Couple Jailed 15 Years For Selling Newborn, Toddler

The Cross State Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has secured two convictions against Esther Ini Udo and Eyo Stephen Udo.

In suit No: FHC/CA/19C/2025 between the Federal Government of Nigeria vs Esther Ini Udo and Eyo Stephen Udo, the court frowned at the duo for selling their babies to a trafficker for monetary reward.

According to reports, the convicts were charged with a four-count charge bordering on buying and selling of babies for exploitation, contrary to Sections 13(4)(a)(c) & (e), 21 and 27 of the TIPPEA Act, 2015.

The court heard that the 1st convict, Esther Ini Udo, sold her newborn baby to one Oluchi Judith, now at large, for ₦300,000.

The two convicts also bought a year-old baby boy for ₦150,000 from Blessing and Uduak (both convicts) and resold the baby to Oluchi Judith for N400,000.

The convicts had pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the court found them guilty on all counts.

Hon Justice L.I. Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Calabar, sentenced the first convict, 32-year-old Esther Ini Udo, to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of N2m on counts 1, 2, and 3.

The sentence will run concurrently with effect from April 1, 2026, the date of judgment whereas the second convict, 34-year-old Eyo Stephen Udo, will  also serve  15-year jail term with a N2m fine.

The court ordered NAPTIP to arrest Oluchi Judith and bring her before the court for prosecution, citing her involvement in several human trafficking cases.