A High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a dismissed soldier, Corporal Stephen Iweh, to death by hanging for the murder of a Port Harcourt-based clearing and forwarding manager, Mr Christopher Enobong Jimmy.
The tragic incident occurred on May 23, 2021, along the East-West Road in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area, after the late Jimmy had offered the soldier a lift in his Toyota Matrix car from Onne, Rivers State, to Ikot Abasi.
According to court proceedings, Iweh, who was attached to the Nigerian Army’s 6 Battalion, Ibagwa in Abak, diverted from his official duty post on the day of the crime. Armed with an AK-47 rifle he had illegally kept since 2018, the 39-year-old soldier shot Jimmy at Oboro Junction, Ikot Abasi, before fleeing with his vehicle and other belongings.
The convict was later tracked to a guest house in Ukanafun, far from the crime scene, where he was arrested and the rifle recovered.
Delivering judgment, Justice Bassey Nkanang ruled that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Iweh, a native of Ameke Nkor in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, committed murder, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of firearms.
The judge handed down a sentence of death by hanging on two counts—murder and armed robbery—while also imposing a 10-year prison term for unlawful possession of the weapon.
During the trial, Iweh, a father of three, pleaded for mercy, asking the court for what he called a “soft landing.” His plea was, however, rejected.
The late Jimmy, aged 42, had left Port Harcourt on the day of the incident to visit his sister in Ikot Abasi but never returned. His widow, Arit, 34, broke down in court as she recalled how her husband’s kindness in giving a lift to a man in uniform ended in tragedy.
