According to Head, Press and Public Relations, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr Josiah Emerole, Okorogu was sentenced by a Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Emerole said: “Okorogu was arraigned by NAPTIP on a two count charge under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015. The man and his accomplice were arrested on December 1, 2017 at the Margret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar by men of the Nigeria Immigration Service and transferred to the Uyo Zonal Command of NAPTIP for further investigations and prosecution.
“He was charged under Sections 13 and 29 of the Trafficking Prohibition Act. He harboured a 16-year-old girl and exploited her using her position of vulnerability. He further attempted to sell the victim’s baby at the sum of N150, 000 before he was arrested at the Airport.”
Delivering Judgement on the case on Friday, Hon Justice Inyang Ekwo found Okorogu guilty of the offence and sentenced him on the two counts charge.
He was sentenced to two years imprisonment on count one and two years on count two. The sentences will run concurrently. The sentence is however, without an option of fine.
Reacting to this conviction, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli commended the Honourable Justice for the courage in handling the case. She however, called on traffickers to look for better things to engage in as the Agency will not spare anyone caught in the act of human trafficking.
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