Court Sentences Winners’ Chapel Pastor to Death by Hanging for Murdering Landlord
An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo yesterday sentenced 29-year-old Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel), Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon Branch, Prince Emmanuel Umoh, to death by hanging for stabbing his landlord, Gabriel Bassey Edward, a First Class civil engineering graduate of the University of Uyo, to death.
Justice Gabriel Ette, who delivered a two-hour judgment described the case as “very sympathetic,” holding that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
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The convict, who pleaded not guilty when arraigned on December 6, 2021, on a one-count charge of murder, was the last person seen with the deceased on December 21, 2020.Neighbours heard screams of “Jesus” from the deceased’s compound that day, after which Umoh emerged in a blood-stained white garment, claiming he fell while hanging a church banner.
Edward’s decomposing body, wrapped in a mat with multiple stab wounds, was discovered five days later on December 26 in his two-bedroom flat at Ifa Ikot Ubo, with a butcher’s knife beside it.
The deceased, a 500-level University of Uyo student, had moved into his late mother’s property, a nursery school compound, to secure it and live closer to campus.
The compound’s long hall, built for the nursery, was rented to Winners’ Chapel for N150,000 annually with the approval of Edward’s father, retired school principal Emana Bassey Edward.
Umoh, the church’s pioneer resident pastor, was allowed to store items in Edward’s flat for security, as the hall lacked doors and windows.
Trouble started when Edward, often away at school, had to return home repeatedly to grant access, incurring transport costs.
After complaints, his father directed him to give Umoh a spare key, but valuables belonging to Edward’s late mother soon went missing.Confronted, Umoh claimed he lost the key.
The church’s senior pastor, Owoidoho Etuk Akpan, gave N5,000 to change the locks, after which no more items vanished.
Tensions escalated over rent money meant for hall repairs.The prosecution called six witnesses, including PW1 Emana Bassey Edward, who detailed the disputes.
In his judgment, Justice Ette lamented: “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 denigrate the very essence of his calling and take someone’s life in the premises of the church.
”He added: “Individuals who betray public trust in such a manner pose a danger to society and must face the full weight of the law.”
Having found you guilty as charged, I hereby sentence you to death by hanging,” the judge ruled.
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