A State High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a 29-year-old resident pastor of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel), Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon branch, Emmanuel Umoh, to death by hanging for the murder of his landlord, Gabriel Edward.
Mr Edward, 23, was a final-year civil engineering student of the University of Uyo. Results released after his death showed he graduated with a first-class degree.
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Justice Gabriel Ette delivered the judgement on Thursday after finding Mr Umoh guilty of stabbing the young student to death on 21 December 2020 at Ifa Ikot Ubo, Uyo.
Promising life cut short
Mr Edward had moved into his late mother’s property to safeguard the estate and stay closer to school. Before her death in December 2019, his mother had established a nursery school in the compound.
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The hall built for the school was later rented to Living Faith Church for worship at an annual rent of N150,000, with the approval of his father, Emana Edward, a retired principal. The church began using the hall even before completing payment, and Mr Umoh was later posted there as pioneer resident pastor, a judiciary reporter in Uyo, Harrison Essien, wrote on Facebook.
The deceased lived in a two-bedroom flat in the compound with his younger brother. Church items were stored in the flat after the pastor requested access for security reasons. To ease access, Mr Edward, on his father’s instruction, gave the pastor a spare key.
Soon after, the belongings of the deceased’s late mother reportedly began to disappear. When confronted, the pastor claimed he had lost the key. Locks were later changed after the church’s senior pastor provided funds, and the theft stopped, according to the evidence before the court.
Tension later developed between the two men over rent money meant for repairs.
The day of the killing
On 21 December 2020, witnesses saw Mr Umoh enter the compound. Neighbours later heard loud screams of “Jesus” from inside the premises. Moments later, the pastor emerged wearing a white garment stained with blood, claiming he had fallen while hanging a banner.
Mr Edward was not seen alive again.
On 26 December, his decomposing body was discovered in his room, wrapped in a mat with deep cuts. A butcher’s knife was found beside him. Being the last person seen with the deceased and unable to explain the bloodstains, Mr Umoh was arrested and later charged with murder.
The defendant was arraigned on 6 December 2021, on a murder charge, which he pleaded not guilty to.
The prosecution called six witnesses, including the deceased’s father, who narrated the events leading to the tragedy.
In an over two-hour judgement, Justice Ette described the case as “very sympathetic,” recalling the efforts of the deceased’s late mother to build a future for her children.
The judge held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and condemned the irony of a religious leader committing murder within church premises.
Judge’s emotional words
Justice Ette, in his ruling, stressed that life is sacred and those who claim to represent God must protect it, not destroy it.
He said it was shocking that a man of faith could kill in a place meant for worship, asking what the young student did to deserve such a cruel death. He reflected on how the victim cried out “Jesus” while being attacked, yet mercy never moved the attacker.
The judge warned that society is unsafe when people who pretend to be righteous commit evil. He declared that justice must prevail.
“Life is sacred, and those who represent God on earth should teach that.
“It is an irony and quite appalling when a man, who claims to be the representative of the divine on earth, stoops so low as to take someone’s life in the premises of the church.
“He heard the deceased scream, ‘Jesus! Yet the defendant inflicted the second cut and many more.
“Today is judgement day on earth. I think men like him are not to be allowed a space in a free society.
“Having found you guilty as charged, I hereby sentence you to death by hanging.”
Prosecution reacts
Speaking in the courtroom shortly after the judgement, the prosecution counsel, Iniobong Essang, said the case was deeply emotional and that justice had prevailed.
“Today is quite emotional for me. Some cases inevitably find their way into our hearts,” the prosecution said, praising the judge’s “well-considered judgement” and noting that justice, though delayed, was not denied.
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The prosecution added that the verdict brought some comfort to the victim’s family and prayed for the repose of Mr Edward’s soul.
Mr Edward, PREMIUM TIMES gathered, had reportedly told relatives a day before the incident that he had recovered many of his missing belongings. Less than 24 hours later, he was murdered by the pastor.
For his family, the judgement closes a long and painful chapter, but the loss of a promising young life — a first-class graduate cut down in his prime — remains a wound that time may never fully heal.
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