Man imprisoned after receiving N80,000 from selling kidnapped 6-year-old boy

A man identified as Kingsley Eyo, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping a six-year-old boy, Godnews Essien.

Justice Okon Okon of the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting at Okoita, in the Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of the state, convicted the 34-year-old on Monday, December 19, 2022, after finding the latter guilty of abduction.

The convict was said to have kidnapped the child on July 19, 2018, while he ran an errand for his mother in Ikot Otoinyie village, Uruan.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charge, leading to full trial with the prosecution team from the state Ministry of Justice, led by Comfort Udo, an Assistant Director of Prosecutions, calling three witnesses.

Amongst others, the prosecution also tendered four exhibits, including the police investigation report dated September 20, 2018, and the confessional statements of the convict in which he admitted that his percentage from the human trade was N80,000.

“The money that we sold Goodnews for is with Denis Joshua (accomplice). My percentage of that money was N80,000. Yes, myself, Joshua went to a native doctor, Cletus, from Ikot Akpa Ekong village in the Uruan Local Government Area to do a charm in order to hide it from people,” the convict was quoted as saying in his statement.

Delivering judgement, Justice Okon stated: “I have thoroughly and meticulously read and reflected on the entirety of the extrajudicial statements of the defendant and have appraised, scrutinised and evaluated same with the evidence of prosecution witnesses and I can infer that the defendant worked in close collaboration with his friends and cohorts in taking away Goodnews Kufre Essien from the custody of his mother (PW1).”

The judge added that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the guilt of the defendant for child abduction as charged.