A Kano State High Court has sentenced six individuals to a combined 120 years in prison for their roles in abducting and trafficking young children, concluding a six-year case that captured national attention.
The convicted defendants—Mercy Paul, Ebere Ogbono, Emmanuel Igwe, Loise Duru, Monica Oracha, and Chinelo Ifedigwe—were found guilty of engaging in a criminal network that targeted children under 10 years old.
The minors, kidnapped from Kano, were trafficked and sold in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Presiding judge Justice Zuwaira Yusuf declared the six guilty of charges including abduction, concealment, aiding and abetting, and child trafficking. They received various prison sentences without options for fines.
Mercy Paul received the longest sentence—55 years. Ebere Ogbono was sentenced to 41 years, Emmanuel Igwe and Chinelo Ifedigwe to 9 years each, Loise Duru to 6 years, and Monica Oracha to 5 years.
The group’s mastermind, Paul Onwe, had previously pleaded guilty in 2021 to 38 charges and was sentenced to 104 years in prison.
While Onwe admitted guilt, the six co-defendants denied the allegations and underwent a lengthy trial process spanning several years.
Their arrest in 2019 followed investigations that uncovered the child trafficking operation, shocking the nation and reigniting demands for stricter child protection laws in Nigeria.
