A 29-year-old pastor, Prince Emmanuel Umoh, has been sentenced to death by hanging for murdering his landlord, Gabriel Bassey Edward, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The Akwa Ibom State High Court found Umoh guilty of stabbing Edward to death on December 21, 2020, over a property dispute.

Edward, a 500-level Civil Engineering student at the University of Uyo, had moved into his late mother’s property, where the church rented a hall for worship. Umoh, the pioneer resident pastor, had been given a spare key to the flat, but tensions arose after valuables went missing. The locks were eventually changed, but the dispute escalated, leading to Edward’s murder.

Justice Gabriel Ette described the act as “appalling” and stressed that life is sacred, condemning the pastor’s betrayal of public trust. Edward’s posthumous results showed he graduated with First Class honors. The prosecution presented six witnesses, and Umoh was arraigned on December 6, 2021, pleading not guilty.