Published 4th Aug, 2022

By Joseph Adeiye

Justice Bassey Nkanang of the State High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced Uduak Akpan to death for raping and murdering Iniubong Umoren, a job seeker, in April 2021.

Nkanang found Akpan guilty of the charges levelled against him and sentenced him to death by hanging. Akpan also received a life imprisonment sentence for rape.

Nkanang discharged and acquitted Francisca Bassey Akpan, Akpan’s sister, and Frank Akpan Snr., Akpan’s father, who were the 2nd and the 3rd defendants in the case.

Akpan tried to escape from the courtroom after the judge sentenced him but security officials were on hand to restrain him, according to Premium Times.

Umoren went missing on April 29, 2021, after she was tricked to attend a fake job interview set up by Uduak Akpan in Uyo.

Uduak Umoh, Umoren’s friend, reported her friend was in danger on Twitter after she heard her scream for help on a quick phone call.

“She sent me a 1sec audio record on WhatsApp and I had to call her back to know if she wanted to say something to me but immediately I called her, I heard her screaming,” Umoh had tweeted.

The police later exhumed Umoren’s remains from a shallow grave in Akpan’s family compound on April 30, 2021.

Umoren had recently graduated from the University of Uyo’s Department of Philosophy. She was waiting for her deployment for the mandatory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) programme. Umoren was an orphan and was trying to earn a living before her NYSC year when Akpan killed her.

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