Akwa Ibom Court Sentences Ex-Soldier to Death for Murder of Traveller Who Gave Him Lift

An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a dismissed soldier, Corporal Stephen Iweh of the Nigerian Army’s 6 Battalion, Ibagwa, Abak, to death by hanging for the murder of a traveller who gave him a ride.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Bassey Nkanang ruled that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Iweh, 39, killed Christopher Enobong Jimmy, 42, and dispossessed him of his Toyota Matrix car while armed with an illegal AK-47 rifle.

The tragic incident occurred on May 23, 2021, along the East-West Road in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area. Jimmy, a clearing and forwarding manager based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had offered Iweh a lift from Trailer Park, Onne, Rivers, to Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom.

Court records showed that at Oboro Junction, Ikot Abasi, the soldier—who had kept the AK-47 he picked up in Dambou, Borno State, since 2018—shot Jimmy in the head and fled with his vehicle and belongings.

Investigations revealed that Iweh, a father of three who joined the army in 2002, abandoned his duty post at the Army Store in Abak to carry out the crime. He was later traced to Andy Guest House in Ukanafun, where he was arrested and the rifle recovered.

Jimmy, driving his grey Toyota Matrix, had unsuspectingly given Iweh—dressed in full military uniform—a lift. They reportedly stopped at Oboro Junction to eat when the soldier turned on him, killing him instantly.

Justice Nkanang found Iweh guilty on a three-count charge and sentenced him accordingly:

• Death by hanging for murder
• Death by hanging for armed robbery
• 10 years imprisonment for unlawful possession of firearms

The judge dismissed the convict’s plea for leniency. In court, the victim’s widow, Arit Jimmy, 34, wept as she recalled how her husband left Port Harcourt to visit his sister but never made it back home.

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