The Federal High Court, Calabar Judicial Division, has convicted and sentenced three men for trafficking a two-year-old boy from Bunyia Community in Boki Local Council of Cross River State.

The convicts — Felix Iorlumun, 18; Silas Shie, 19; and Samuel Moses, 27 — were found guilty of three counts bordering on conspiracy and transporting the child by means of abduction for the purpose of exploitation.

The offences contravened Sections 13 and 27 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition), Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA) 2015.

The case, Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Felix Iorlumun and two others, was prosecuted by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Cross River State Command, under Charge No. FHC/CA/160C/2026.

The convicts were said to have abducted the child, Wisdom Emmanuel Achua, and transported him to Mbube Community in Ogoja Local Council, allegedly with the intention of taking him to Benue State.

They were intercepted by community vigilantes in Mbube, who alerted NAPTIP, leading to the agency taking over the investigation and prosecution.

The three men pleaded guilty to the charges when they were arraigned before the court in October.

Delivering judgment yesterday, Justice Rosemary Oghoghorie convicted them on all the counts and sentenced them to various terms of imprisonment and fines.

Iorlumun and Shie were each sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined N250,000 on each of counts one and two, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Moses was also sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined N250,000 on each of counts one and two, with the sentences to run concurrently.

On count three, Moses was sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined N1 million, with the sentence also to run concurrently.

The judgment was delivered on October 7, 2026, at the Federal High Court, Calabar Judicial Division.