By Emmanuel Uffot
- Thursday August 4, 2022 was a memorable day not only for the family and friends of late Iniubong Umoren but keen followers of her murder case as 21-years old Uduak Akpan from Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State who raped and murdered the deceased Philosophy graduate who went in search of a purported job vacancy was sentenced to death by hanging by an Uyo High Court.
In a two-hour ruling, the presiding Judge, Justice Bassey Nkanang found Uduak Akpan guilty on the two count charge of murder and rape and consequently sentenced him to death on Count one (Murder) and life imprisonment on Count 2 (Rape).
In arriving at the ruling Justice Nkanang stated that with the available evidence and facts of the case, the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt the offence of murder and rape levelled against the first defendant.
He dismissed in totality the three key arguments of the defence counsel bothering on self defence from provocation, state of insanity of the defendant at the time of alleged offence and alibi which had to do with where he was at the time the offence was committed. According to Justice Nkanang the defence of self defence cannot hold ground because it is even the defendant that provoked the deceased by going against the agreement of using condom to have sex with her which led to a struggle and she used an available iron to hit him which resulted in Uduak picking a stabilizer to hit her repeatedly on the head and a part of box iron to hit her on the abdomen which cut her deeply with a gush of blood. H esaid in matters of provocation, where the person been provocated employ a weapon or respond savagely in a manner that is beyond the level of provocation, then such cannot stand. Similarly on the state of insanity of the defendant who is said to be suffering from a mental health challenge known as Schizephenia. Thwe Judge said though the ailment is said to affect the reasoning of the patient, but the way Uduak strangled the deseased, tie her amount to prevent her shout for held, drag her outside to a nearby bush, dug, shallow grave, rap her in a blanket and buried her before going back to clean the blood then moved to Calabar in a bid to escape did not come from somebody of an unstable mind or insane.
On the case of alibi and the fact that there was no eye witness to the actual crime of rape and murder levelled against the first defendant, the Judge said the argument fell flat on the face as three confessional statements made by the accused separately with his own writing And signature recounts how he committed the act. So the issue of an eye witness was not necessary again.
Justice Nkanand however discharged and acquitted the convict’s father Frank Akpan and sister Bassey-Anwan who were 2nd and 3rd defendant in the case. The duo who were arraigned alongside Uduak were charged for accessory after the fact to murder respectively. In Frank Akpan and her daughter, the Judge noted that the prosecution has not been able to prove that they assisted and abated the convict in the commission of crime for the charge of accessory after the fact to murder to hold. He particularly pointed to the issue of alibi raised by the 2nd defendant that at the time of the said crime by his son he was not at home, and the police investigators failed to carry out that aspect of investigation to find out whether truly he was not at home and to establish that where he told the court he was at that material time was true or not.
On the 3rd defendant, the convict’s sister, the Judge equally dismissed the charge of accessory after the fact to murder against her. The Judge noted that evidence from her showed that even before he arrived her home in Calabar, she had seen information trending on the social media that his brother had kidnapped somebody and enquired from him what she had seen on social media whereby he is accused of kidnapping a lady. She the Judge noted had told his brother to return to Akwa Ibom to clear his name, and that he eventually left that same day to Uyo. Based on this, Justice Nkanang said there is no way the charge of accessory after the fact can hold against her as she did not do anything to suggest that she aided him in the crime. He relied on a trite law maxim “ That it is better for 10 guilty persons to be set free than one innocent person to be jailed)”. He concluded that whenever there is doubt on the prosecution side on whether a defendant actually committed a crime he or she is standing trial, then the law permits a court to rule in their favour.
Justice Nkanang noted with dismay the mien of the first defendant (Murderer) who did not show any remorse at all during the ninth month trial. Before his conviction, the Judge demanded that he made a statement in regard to the sentence of guilt. He stunned the court, when he said that he4 is not guilty because the many assassinations going on in the country, government has not taken anybody to Court.
It was on this ground that the Judge sentenced him to death by hanging.
“This court has proved beyond reasonable doubts that you, Uduak Akpan is guilty of murder and you are sentenced to death by hanging until you die, may God have mercy on your soul”, the judge ruled.
Before pronouncing the verdict, Justice Nkanang said 20 exhibits were tendered and admitted which included a Quilink Stabiliser, shovel, jeans cloth he used in tying her neck, pictures of the decomposed exhumed body, a shovel, GSM phones and confessional statements of the defendants among others. He also said 10 witnesses were called to testify by the prosecution while the case had three mini-trials necessitated by the first defendants denial of the statements he made to police and DSS, which he said were made under duress.
After the verdict a mild drama ensued when the convict attempted to escape from the court when he was been led out, but he was held down by operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Reacting to the judgement, the State Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Uko Udom said he was satisfied with the ruling on the case. He thanked the Judge over the way and manner the case was conducted and also had commendation to police and the DSS investigating on the ri painstaking investigation which enable the court to give the ruling in a record short time.
“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 at the end of the day we had a judgement and this 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 2nd and 3rd defendant have been discharged and acquitted, we shall analyse that to see whether there are any grouse then know further action to take”.
Speaking on the attempted escape of the convict, the State Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice said he was not surprised at the convict’s action.
“It’s not something to be surprised about, some one that committed such gruesome offences and I’m not surprised for him to do something as bad as he did here but the officials were very alert and attentive that was why they stopped him.
“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 accuse them of complicity but without their.”
“But if you listen to that Judgement, you will know that without the diligence of the Police and the officers of the DSS, the evidence that we had, to bring out the conviction would not have been possible. I will also like to thank the very diligent staff of the Ministry of Justice, Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, and Solicitor General, they did a fantastic job”
He said the case leaves a moral burden on parents to take a keen look at what their children are doing. He wondered how a father will not know that his son is into some devious crime under his nose.
On his part Barrister Uwemedimo Nwoko (SAN), who a watching held brief for late Iniubong Umoren’s and Itai Afe Annang, a socio-cultural organization of Annang speaking extraction where he is the National President, also commended the judge for the speedy trial. He said for the late Iniubong Umoren and family, Justice had been done. He said it was a landmark case that attracted global attention and that all parties are without satisfied with the turn out of the ruling.
Nwoko, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Akwa Ibom State had earlier after the completion of the case and adjournment for ruling last June, commended the defence and prosecution counsel for their cooperation to ensure a speedy trial, maintaining that the general objective is not really to give justice but to ensure that justice is seen to be done in record time.
On the acquittal of Frank Akpan and Bassey Anwan, second and third defendants, he said the judge ruled that the prosecution could not prove their case beyond reasonable doubt to warrant their conviction on the charge of accessory after the fact to murder.
On his part, Counsel to Uduak-Abasi Akpan, Mr Samson Adula, said “if you followed the judgement, you will know that the judge has done justice to the case; justice in the sense that those that are supposed to be convicted were convicted, and other two defendants were discharged and acquitted”.
Asked if he will appeal the judgement, Adula who is also the State Coordinator, Legal Aid Council said it was not his place to appeal, that his work was to defend him so appeal rest on the convict. “It is not within my place to appeal. It is left to him, (convict) whether he wants to appeal or not. My work was to defend him at the State High Court. And as I said in the court, this case is a case that speaks volumes about the state of our youths in this country. The deceased was a 26year old graduate, and the first defendant was a 20-year-old undergraduate”.
“All we are interested in is justice, and justice has been done, the person that was supposed to be convicted has been convicted, and the other two defendants were discharged and acquitted, that is the justice of the case. The work of defence counsel is to ensure the rules were followed and not to defend at all cost” he said.
The family members of late Iniubong Umoren who throng the court in numbers also expressed happiness and thanked the Judge for giving their deceased sister, who was gruesomely murdered, justice in the case.
Elder brother to the deceased, Mr. Ephraim Umoren expressed satisfaction in the judgement and commended Governor Udom Emmanuel and his wife, Martha Emmanuel for their support to the family
“I’m happy that justice has already been done and I want to thank the governor and the wife for standing by us.”
However, the deceased’s elder sister, Ifiok Umoren, while hailing the judgement called on both the state and federal governments to provide employment for the teeming youths to address unemployment in the country.
Recall that Uduak Akpan stood trial for over nine months for luring Iniubong Umoren to his residence in the pretence of offering her a job but raped, killed and buried her in a shallow grave in his father’s compound.
The background of the case dates back to April 29, 2023 when the 26-year-old fresh graduate of Philosophy from the University of Uyo, Iniubong Umoren responded to a job vacancy advertised on Twitter. She was invited by Uduak Akpan regarding the job. She consequently left her house to honour the invitation and thereafter could no longer be reach.
Umoren’s friend Uduak Umoh, whom she intimated about the job vacancy issue, had raised an alarm after her whereabout became unknown and posted it on Facebook that she may have been kidnap while going for the job interview.
It was on the strength of this information about a possible kidnap of the job seeker by Uduak Akpan who invited her, that the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of Akwa Ibom State police command swung into action and arrested the suspect father’s Mr Frank Akpan when the former absconded.
It was after his arrest on April 30, 2021 that the true circumstances that led to the alleged killing of Umoren emerged through his written confession to the police and later the Department of State Services, DSS investigators that were drafted into the case by the state to enable a thorough job as disclosed by the deputy director DPP who was the state prosecuting counsel. Itim “the DSS had to come into the matter to ensure that nothing was swept under the carpet”.
Uduak’s culpability in the murder of the deceased was confirmed by a DSS officer Ama Okeke when he testified in court. The DSS officer who was the last prosecution witness (PW10), recounted the confessional statement made by the first defendant to his investigating team voluntarily. Okeke testified that the first defendant confessed how his pseudo job interview invitation had lured the deceased to his residence, rape and eventually killed her during a scuffle with the deceased. According to his account, when it dawned on the deceased that he might harm her if she did not allow him have sex with her, Miss Umoren, agreed on the condition that he used condom and in the process of having intercourse with her he attempted to remove the condom and the deceased struggled with him and used an available iron she could lay hands to hit him on the forehead. Frank said he thereafter he carried a stabilizer to hit her on her stomach and she started bleeding profusely. It was in that process that he used a black cloth and stuff in her mouth to prevent her from shouting. He said before that, she had made a voice message to somebody he did not know. He further confessed that after stuffing her mouth with black cloth, he then removed her jeans trouser and strangle her. He then went to the back of the building, dug a shallow grave, drag her with the cloth stuffed in her mouth and the jeans still tied on her neck and buried her before going to clean the blood in the room.
It could be recalled that the first defendant during interrogation after his arrest, had confessed not only to the police and DSS of committing the crime in his statements, but had pleaded guilty to the charge of murder when he was first arraigned together with his father on July 26, 2021 before Justice Bennett Illaumo in Akwa Ibom High Court 6, Uyo whose transfer led to the case transferred to Justice Nkanang.
However, the trial later took a dramatic twist when the first defendant and principal suspect recanted his earlier statements to the police and DSS and his admission of guilt before the court. He said that he made the statements to the police and State Security investigating team under duress to avoid further torture he was subjected. He also said he was tortured and compelled to sign the statement. On the video recorder of his statement to DSS, he admitted that although the voice on the disc was his, but he was tutored on what to answer.
He said, “They said I should practice those questions and answers and they also said when they start recording that I should give them the answers according to what I practiced”.
It was based on the denial by first defendant that he made the statement involuntarily that prompted his lawyer, Samson Adula to object to its admissibility on the ground that it was not made voluntarily
Consequent upon this denial and objection by his counsel, the trial judge step down further hearing and called for a trial-within-trial to authenticate the veracity of the statements and determined whether it was truly made under duress.
However, when cross-examined in the trial-within-trial, the DSS investigator, Ama Okeke (PW10) told the court that the allegation that the first accused made the statement the prosecuting counsel sought to tender in evidence involuntarily was not correct.
The prosecution witness testified that the DSS has a standard interrogation room with electronic gadgets, cameras, recorder, pen, tables, chairs among others, where a suspect could relax to write or make his or her statement voluntarily.
Okeke “And when the first accused person was in our interrogation room, he was asked if he knows why he was in the DSS? My Lord he had voluntarily told my team that it is because he killed Iniubong Ephraim Umoren”.
The witness further testified that, it was not also correct that the video recording of the first accused which was played in the court was as a result of questions and answers as alleged by the first accused person, noting that his team only asked Uduak Akpan to narrate what happened that led to the death of Iniubong Umoren.
Also aligning with the DSS officer, the prosecution counsel wondered why the first accused kept claiming that he was tortured to sign a statement, and also denying making statement in connection with the charge brought against him.
He explained that in the video recording played in court where Uduak Akpan was confessing to the DSS investigation team, there was nothing showing that he was being threatened or tortured.
Ruling in the trial-within -trial, Justice Bassey Nkanang, described the claims by the accused that he made his confessional statement to police and DSS under duress as a clear afterthought and dismissed the allegation of involuntariness of the confessional statement by Uduak Akpan, the first accused person.
“I have appraised the testimonies of the witnesses in this trial within trial and I have juxtaposed them with the requirements for challenging the admissibility of a document on grounds of involuntariness.”
“The confession of the first accused person as set out in his contested statement of 30th April 2021 is largely corroborated by the evidence of the Prosecution witnesses.
“The allegation by Uduak Frank Akpan that he made the confessional statement under duress is clearly a sloppy afterthought and when considered side by side with the totality of the circumstances.
“The sole issue for determination herein is resolved in favour of the Prosecution and the allegation of the instant statement of the first accused person as raised, canvassed, and escalated in this trial within trial by and on behalf of the first accused person is hereby discountenanced and dismissed.”
The second defendant, during cross examination in the trial told the court that he was not in the house and only got a call from his son that he wants to go Calabar to visit her elder sister, and he therefore intimated his daughter that her brother was coming. Mr Akpan insisted that he was unaware of commission of any crime by his son until the police visited and arrested him. He also denied knowing that the body of the deceased was exhumed from his compound while in custody. Led in evidence by his counsel, he said the first accused had mental ailment called Shizophrenia and was a patient of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital.
Schizophrenia, is a mental disorder that affects a person ability to think, feel and behave clearly. Treatment can help but cannot be cured. A chronic case can last for years or lifelong. Causes could include, genetics, environment and altered brain chemistry.
Similarly, Bassey -Awan the third defendant, an hair stylist who was charged for harbouring her brother in her Calabar residence, Cross River State with intention to aid him escape punishment for the alleged crime in her evidence, admitted that he visited her on April 30, 2021 but denied knowing that he killed Miss Umoren before the visit. She told the court that at the time her brother visited, she had read on Facebook that he abducted Umoren who was said to be missing. She said her brother did not respond when she asked him about the Facebook post linking him to the missing person. She said she showed him pictures of the lady and told her brother to go and clear his name “Go and clear your name about the Facebook post I saw”.
She admitted reporting her brother’s visit to his father through phone call. When asked if she reported to the police that her brother, who was accused of kidnapping Miss Umoren, was in her house, she said no.
During the course of police investigation, Uruan Local Government Chairman of Iniobong Ekpenyong, was linked to the case when while parading the suspect , the Akwa Ibom police Command PPRO had said Uduak confessed to telling the council chairman about his atrocity before escaping to Calabar.
But the council boss in his defence, denied claims that the suspect Uduak confessed to him before escaping to Calabar as alleged by the police. He said it was not true as that statement by the police PRO portrays him as not only a partner in the crime but capable of tarnishing his reputation.
He said he got information that an elderly man was arrested by the police on account of his son’s offence, and that the police were bent on detaining him till his son who absconded turn in himself. That he swung into action by persuading the boy to turn himself to clear his name since he was still denying committing the offence. The Council boss reiterated his position that contrary to the insinuation by the police is him that facilitated the accused arrest by the DPO through communication with him on phone which portrayed him as being as being a partner in crime.
Also interrogated during investigation were Samuel Ezeugo, a Superintendent of police and DPO of the police division that supervised the arrest of Uduak and a civil servant Kufre Effiong with the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, a close relation of suspect who were all linked to the case given the telephone calls they had with the accused after the said date of commission of crime. But like the local government chairman, they denied that they aided the accuse, rather they explained that their communication with him was aimed at facilitating his arrest.
Police Officer attached to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Homicide Unit ASP, Kanu Ekpezu in his testimony before the court as PW 9, said the Anti- Kidnapping Unit, in State Police Command Ikot Akpan Abia handed over Uduak Frank and his father Frank Akpan, first accused and second accused persons respectively to the SCIID and they made their statements by themselves. He also said the Anti-Kiddnapping Unit also handed alongside the suspects, a spade exhibit 9, Qlink stabilizer-10 and a piece of dirty clothe-11 which were recovered from the scene of murder as exhibits. He testified that Uduak Frank Akpan made his statement in the Senior Police Officers (SPOs) office and not in interrogation room in the presence of three police officers including Inspector Ofonime Archibong when the accused wrote his statement by himself.
In the course of the trial, the initial counsel to the second and third defendants Barister Emmsa Ekongson withdrew from the case and Barrister Abasiodiong Ekpeyong was appointed to take over as their defence counsel.
Another take home on the sensitive nature of the case was the revelation by the principal suspect/first defendant counsel (Adula) about the threats he received from several sources since he took over the case. It is believed that this may have informed the withdrawal of the initial counsel for second and third defendants. Again, given his position as head of the legal Aid Counsel, his legal service at the instance of government was offered free due to the nature of the case.
According to laid down provisions for offence of murder or any offence that carries death penalty and life imprisonment, accuse person must be represented by a lawyer. If he has no financial ability to enlist a lawyer, the law provides for government to get a lawyer for the person.
They were first arraigned on July 26, 2021 before Justice Bennett Illaumo before he was transferred and the case was taken over by Justice Nkanang. The first accused pleaded guilty when the charges were first read to him.
Uduak Frank and his father were the first to be charged before the court, before Bassey- Awan the former elder sister was arraigned 4 months later after unfolding evidences linked her to the crime.
A total of 10 prosecution witnesses testified in the course of the 11-month trial and 20 exhibits were admitted. Some of the exhibits included four phones, video compact disc, a spade, Qlink stabilizer, a dirty clothe and statements of the three defendants
However the death sentence on the killer of the job seeker has raised further questions on the prevailing situation whereby those on death row stay in the Correctional Centres for even up to ten to 15 years without execution because of the unwillingness of many governors in Nigeria to sign death warrant to enable execution to be carried out on convicts. This development is cited as one of the reasons for the congestions in the Correctional Centres across the country.
Data from the Amnesty International shows out of 5841 inmates on death row in Prison facilities across sub-Saharan Africa, over half are in Nigeria.
Analysts frowned at this attitude of keeping convicts on death row perpertually and feeding them with tax payers’ money. They argue that since the governors have that power of prerogative of mercy, if they are unwilling to sign the death warrant then they can commit the sentences instead of keeping them to worsen the congestion in the few Correctional Centres in Nigeria.
For instance of the total number of death row inmates as of December 2021, about 3036, which represents over 52 per cent, were in Nigeria.
Kenya is behind Nigeria with 601 inmates on death row. This was followed by Tanzania with 480 sentenced to death. South Sudan housed 334 inmates. Zambia, the landlocked South African country, had 257. Cameroon had 250, Mauritania 183, Ghana 165, and Uganda 135.
At the other end was Sierra Leone which housed 117 inmates on death row and Sudan 95. Zimbabwe had 66, Mali had 48, Malawi had 37, and Liberia had 16.
Even though the death sentence is legal in Nigeria and other African countries, executions are a rarity.
For instance in 2021, despite sentencing 56 people to death, Amnesty International said Nigeria has no record of executions. Between 2007 and 2017, there were seven executions in the country with the last one taking place in 2016.
In Akwa Ibom State, no fewer than 10 persons have been convicted to death this year without any record of their execution. But given the interest and passion that trailed the case of Uduak Frank murder of Iniubong Umoren which the governor and wife Martha Emmanuel were passionate about, the general believe is that the governor will be favourably disposed to signing the death warrant after the elapse of window of grace give for appeal. Like one person said at the court after the conviction of the murderer that this particular case they would follow to see that execution was actually done.
