The Sokoto Magistrate Court has sentenced one Emmanuel Bassey and his wife to three years imprisonment with N275,000 fine for confining their 12-year-old niece in an unused fridge for eight months.
Delivering his judgement, Chief Magistrate Shu’aibu Ahmad fined the couple N25,000 or six months jail term for criminal conspiracy.
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He also fined them N50,000 for wrongful confinement and in default they would spend 12 months in prison.
He averred that the couple were found guilty of cruelty to child and sentenced them to 12 months imprisonment with N100,000 fine and in default they would spend three years in prison.
Ahmad noted that they would serve the sentences concurrently.
He however granted their two children, Goodness Emmanuel and Happiness Emmanuel bail in the sum of N500,000 and one surety each in the like sum.
It would be recalled that the niece, Joy Emmanuel, was confined in a fridge inside a cage without food for eight months by her aunty and her husband, Esther Emmanuel and Emmanuel Basey who were residing at Sokoto Cinema area in Sokoto North Local Government Area.
The reason for their action, as gathered by Daily Trust, was that she was mentally unstable which was later proved to be false by the police.
The spokesman of the Sokoto Police Command, ASP Sanusi Abubakar, said the girl was rescued on Thursday while the suspects were arrested and detained at the Dadin Kowa police station.
“They kept the girl in a cage at their compound and starved her of food for eight months.
“When our men broke the door of the cage, the girl was too frail to walk because she was emaciated.
“We met her in a very horrible situation, urinating and excreting inside the cage.
“The girl was taken to the Specialist hospital for treatment,” he said.
