Court Jails Housewife For Two Years For Buying Baby

Okafor, who resides at Dape, along Karmo Road, was dragged to the FCT High Court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for willfully inflicting physical injury on a 10-year-old boy (names withheld).

The boy, who served her as a house-help, had received severe razor blade cut from Okafor, an act which is in violation of and punishable under section 2 of the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.

According to Section 2, Subsection 1 of the VAPP Act, “a person who willfully causes or inflicts physical injury on another person by means of any weapon, substance or object, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine not exceeding N100,000 or both.”

Okafor, who was arrested by officials of NAPTIP in September 2015, had used a sharp razor blade to cut the victim on various parts of his body including his abdomen, left buttocks and thigh.

She was subsequently arraigned on a one-count charge, where she pleaded guilty to the offence. The presiding judge, Justice N. Ogbonna sentenced her to nine months imprisonment without an option of fine. No compensation was, however, awarded to the victim.

This comes as a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has convicted Mrs. Mavis Solomon for purchasing a 10-month-old baby at the cost of N200,000 from two others who are under prosecution.

Solomon was charged by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to court for violating Section 21 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.

She was, thereafter, sentenced to two years in prison by Justice A. Liman after pleading guilty to the charge.