A HIGH Court in Akwa Ibom State has sentenced Uduak Akpan, the first accused person in the murder of Iniubong Umoren, to death by hanging.
Uduak allegedly killed Iniobong, a Philosophy graduate of the University of Uyo, while she was on a job hunt in April 2021.
In a judgment that lasted over two hours on Thursday, the presiding judge Justice Bassey Nkanang found the suspect guilty of rape and murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.
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The court, however, discharged and acquitted Frank Akpan and Anwan-Bassey Akpan, the second and third accused persons.
In April 2021, one of Iniobong’s friends raised the alarm on the social media that she was missing.
The outcry on the social media spurred the police to action, and Uduak Akpan was arrested in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, for the suspected kidnap, rape and murder of the job seeker.
The lifeless body of the victim was later discovered after she left home for a job interview at Airport Road in Uyo upon invitation sent to her by a man via Twitter.
According to the police, she was kidnapped, raped and murdered by an imposter later identified as Akpan.
After Akpan’s arrest, the police said he confessed to having lured the victim to his house, sexually assaulted her, and buried her in a shallow grave in his father’s compound after killing her.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance