Court sentences dismissed Soldier to death for murder, armed robbery

A High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a dismissed soldier, Corporal Stephen Iweh, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murder and armed robbery.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Bassey Nkanang, followed the prosecution’s evidence that Iweh, 39, killed a traveller, Christopher Enobong Jimmy, who had offered him a lift from Onne in Rivers State to Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom, on May 23, 2021.

Court documents revealed that Jimmy, a 42-year-old manager with a clearing and forwarding company in Port Harcourt, was driving his Toyota Matrix when he stopped at Oboro Junction in Ikot Abasi.

There, Iweh, who was in full military camouflage and armed with an AK-47 rifle he had illegally kept since 2018, shot him dead before fleeing with his vehicle and valuables.

Investigations showed that Iweh, a father of three and native of Ameke Nkor in Ngor Okpala, Imo State, abandoned his duty post at the Army Store of 6 Battalion, Ibagwa, Abak, to carry out the crime.

He was later tracked to a guest house in Ukanafun, where he was arrested and the weapon recovered.

Justice Nkanang ruled that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Iweh murdered Jimmy, robbed him while armed with a rifle, and unlawfully possessed the firearm.

The court sentenced him to death by hanging for murder and armed robbery, and an additional 10 years in prison for illegal possession of firearms.

His plea for leniency was rejected by the court.