For fatally stabbing his landlord, a 29-year-old Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church a.k.a Winners Chapel, Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot of Okpon Branch, Uyo, Prince Emmanuel Umoh has been sentenced to death.
Justice Gabriel Ette of the Akwa Ibom State High Court delivered the verdict in Uyo on Thursday, finding Umoh guilty of fatally stabbing the victim.
The deceased was a 500-level Civil Engineering student at the University of Uyo. Tragically, Edward’s final results—released after his death—confirmed he had graduated with First Class honors.
He had recently moved into his late mother’s property at Ifa Ikot Ubo to oversee the estate and live closer to his campus.
The property included a nursery school founded by Edward’s mother and a long hall that the family had rented to the Living Faith Church for N150,000 annually.
At the time of the murder, Edward shared an attached two-bedroom flat with his younger brother.
The property’s hall had been leased to the church, which was permitted to begin services even before the rent was fully paid.
Emmanuel Umoh was subsequently appointed as the branch’s first resident pastor.
Evidence presented in court placed Umoh at the scene on December 21, 2020. Neighbours testified to hearing desperate cries of “Jesus” echoing from the premises.
Shortly after, the pastor emerged wearing a blood-stained white garment, claiming the stains were the result of a fall while hanging a banner.
Edward was never seen alive again. On December 26, the day after Christmas, his decomposing body was discovered in his room, wrapped in a mat with multiple lacerations and a butcher’s knife lying nearby.
As the last person seen with the victim—and unable to explain the blood on his clothes—Umoh was arrested and charged with murder.
Although he pleaded not guilty during his December 2021 arraignment, the prosecution built a formidable case using six witnesses, including the victim’s father, Emana Bassey Edward.
PW1 told the court that shortly after the church began operations, the defendant requested permission to store church chairs and other items inside the deceased’s flat for security reasons, as the hall lacked doors and windows.
The request was granted.
However, the arrangement soon became problematic.
Whenever the defendant needed access to church property kept in the flat, the deceased, often away, had to return home to grant access, incurring transport expenses that were not refunded.
Following complaints, PW1 directed his son to give the defendant a spare key to ease access.
The prosecution led evidence that after the key was handed over, items belonging to the deceased’s late mother, including clothes, plates and other valuables, began to go missing.
The defendant, being in possession of the spare key, became a suspect.
When confronted, the defendant claimed he had lost the key.
The matter was reported to the church’s senior pastor, Owoidoho Etuk Akpan, who testified as a defence witness, who provided N5,000 to enable the deceased change the locks.
The court noted that the security of the premises remained intact after the locks were changed, with no further items reported missing.
However, a rift had developed between Edward and Umoh over the management of rental income intended for property repairs.
In a somber judgment lasting over two hours, Justice Gabriel Ette described the case as “deeply sympathetic.”
He reflected on the tragic loss of the deceased’s mother, who had originally built the property to serve as an educational centre.
Finding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, Justice Ette handed down the death sentence.
He highlighted the chilling irony of the crime, condemning a religious leader for committing a cold-blooded murder within the very walls intended for worship.
“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.” Justice Ette held.
He further stated that 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 court ruled.
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