The Federal High Court in Calabar has convicted and sentenced Mbika Edem, identified by the alias Ikwo, for her role in a child trafficking conspiracy. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) led the prosecution against her.
Edem was charged under Sections 13(2)(b), 21, and 27 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015. The prosecuting team informed the court that Edem collaborated with a nurse, who is currently at large, to unlawfully hasten the delivery of Mercy Ekanem.
Ekanem was reportedly coerced into premature labour. Following the birth, her newborn was taken from her. The prosecution stated that Edem then sold the infant to an unidentified buyer.
According to the prosecution's account, Edem abandoned the mother, Ekanem, by the roadside after giving her N200,000. Edem had initially entered a plea of not guilty to the four-count charge during her arraignment on March 19, 2025.
In her judgment delivered on Monday, Justice Rosemary Oghoghorie declared the defendant guilty on all four charges. For the first count, Ms. Oghoghorie sentenced Edem to two years imprisonment, with an alternative of a N2 million fine. For counts two, three, and four, she received two years imprisonment each, with no option for a fine.
The court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, commencing from the date of her arrest. Furthermore, the judge mandated that Edem pay N500,000 as compensation to the victim. The N200,000 recovered from the victim was also ordered to be forfeited to the federal government.
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