An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki has sentenced Janet Ekeh, owner of Shalom Child Foundation in Akwu Etche, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to 10 years imprisonment for her involvement in buying and selling children.
Presiding over the case, Justice Chinyere Ken-Eze found Ekeh, popularly known as “Mummy Shalom,” guilty of purchasing two children, Oluomachi (3) and Praise (2), from Lucky Godwin in November 2018 and selling them to others.
The court also heard how Godwin, convicted of murder in 2022 by Justice Iheanacho Chima, was in the habit of luring women with children to secluded locations in Abakaliki, killing them, and selling their children to Ekeh. One victim, Chisom Ugwu, was stabbed multiple times and left for dead in a bush but survived to assist the police in their investigations.
Prosecuting Counsel Ijeoma Mike-Ajanwachukwu, the state Chief Counsel, noted that Ekeh’s actions violated Section 33(1) of the Ebonyi State Child Rights and Related Matters Law 2010. She was convicted without an option of fine and will serve 10 years in prison.
The case shed light on a horrifying network of crimes, including the murder of Oluomachi’s mother, who was killed in a hotel, and the sale of Godwin’s biological child to Ekeh. Following her initial arrest, Ekeh fled, dismantling her orphanage and attempting to hide in a remote area, but she was later tracked down and brought to justice.
Authorities successfully recovered the children and dismantled the criminal operation, ensuring justice for the victims and their families.
