Man Sentenced to Death by Hanging for Murdering Job Seeker in A'Ibom

Uduak Akpan, 21, from Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of a job seeker in the state, late Iniubong Umoren. An Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo, the state capital, delivered the judgement on Thursday after about one year of trial. The Presiding Judge, Justice Bassey Nkanang, in his ruling, also sentenced the accused to life imprisonment for raping the deceased who he lured to his father's house in Uruan LGA for sake of job offer. In the more than two hours’ judgement, Justice Nkanang discharged and acquitted the convict's father, Frank Akpan, and sister, Anwan Bassey, who were second and third defendants accused of accessory after the fact to murder respectively. He said: "This court has proved beyond reasonable doubts that you, Uduak Akpan, is guilty of murder, and you are charged accordingly. You are to die by hanging until you rot away." Following the ruling, a mild drama ensued as the convict attempted to escape from the court, but he was held at the door by security operatives. Reacting to the judgement, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Uko Udom, said he was satisfied with the ruling on the case. According to him, "I thank the presiding Judge over the way and manner this matter has been conducted. "The Judge was able to take a day out; tried the case on a day-to-day basis and in the end, we had a judgement that shows that the justice system works. We are very happy about the outcome of the case. "As you can see, the first defendant has been led into custody and the second and third defendant have been discharged and acquitted. "We intend, as a state, to analyse the judgement to see if there are any grouse and take a decision, but the Judge has done a good job." Speaking on the attempted escape of the convict, the Commissioner of Justice said he was not surprised at the convict's action. He added: "It's not something to be surprised about, some one who committed such gruesome offences, so I'm not surprised at him doing something as bad as what he did here, but the officials were at alert, and that was why they stopped him. "Also, I won't fail to commend the officers of the Nigeria Police Force and the Directorate of State Service (DSS) for their diligence in the prosecution of the matter. "They did great jobs in the investigation, though sometimes, the public, especially on social media, would accuse them of complicity but they did a good job."