Child Trafficking: Court Sends Suspects Back To Prison For Not Fulfilling Bail Terms

A Magistrate Court in Port-Harcourt has sent back to prison two accused persons involved in a child-trafficking case for not fulfilling their bail terms.

The presiding magistrate of the court, Senior Magistrate Lenu Baridam, ordered on Thursday during the sitting of the court over the case that the suspects be sent back to prison after she had asked them why they failed to fulfil their bail conditions.

The acused persons said that they were yet to contact their relatives to fulfil the bail terms.

The two accused persons, Awolowo Noble, male, aged 19 and Harrison Ada, female, aged 23, were earlier granted bail by the magistrate court on 2nd of April, 2019 when the matter was brought before the court for trial.

The defence lawyer in the case, Barrister C. O. Nwodo, had applied for bail for the two accused persons and the first defendant in the suit, Mirabel Johnson, when the case was brought to court on 2nd of April.

The presiding magistrate who granted the application for bail by the defence counsel granted bail to Awolowo Noble and Harrison Ada but not to Mirabel Johnson, who is the first accused person in the case.

The presiding magistrate had said that the court would consider bail for the first defendant in the case by 17th of April, 2019, which was adjourned day for the case.

When the court sat on 17th of April, the presiding magistrate still refused to grant bail to the first defendant in the case.

The three accused persons were arraigned in court for alleged child trafficking.

The four-count charge levelled against them said that the first and second defendants in the suit, Mirabel Johnson, female, aged 20 and Awolowo Noble, male, aged 19 allegedly sold a two–week-old baby to a woman named Ada who lives in Aba, Abia State for N150,000.00 and that the money was allegedly stolen by the third defendant in the case, Harrison Ada, a twenty-three-year-old lady, in Slaughter area of Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

It was gathered that the mother of the two-week-old baby, Mirabel Johnson, who is also first defendant in the case sol the baby with the help of the second defendant  on 19th of March, 2019.

It was also gathered that the third defendant in the case allegedly stole the money for the sale of the baby on 20th of March, 2019.

The case is between the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State and the three accused persons and the prosecutor is Police Inspector Ochogwu Riverside Wilberforce.

When the four-count charge was read to the accused persons on 2nd of April, they pleaded not guilty to the charge.

One of the charges read to them said: “That you Mirabel Johnson, ‘f’, Awolowo Noble, ‘m’ and others now at large on the same date and place (19th of March, 2019 at Odani, Akpajo) in the aforesaid (Port-Harcourt) Magisterial District did traffic in person by selling baby Mirabel Johnson ‘f’ aged two weeks old to one Ada, ‘f’, surname unknown and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 30(1)(3) of the Child’s Right Act, Cap 50, LFN 2003”.

Another charge read: “That you Harrison Ada, ‘f’ and others now at large on the same date and place in the aforesaid Magisterial District did steal the sum of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N150, 000.00) being the proceeds of the sale of the baby, property of Mirabel Johnson ‘f’ and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 390(2) of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. II, Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999”.

 The three accused persons will appear again in court on 30th of April, 2019.