The Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced the Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church Chapel, Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon branch, Emmanuel Umoh, to death by hanging for the murder of his landlord, a final-year Civil Engineering student of the University of Uyo, Gabriel Bassey.

Justice Gabriel Ette delivered the judgment after finding Umoh guilty of killing Bassey on December 21, 2020, at Ifa Ikot Ubo in Uyo Local Government Area.

The court heard that the deceased had moved into his late mother’s property in the area to safeguard the estate and stay closer to school. Before her passing in December 2019, his mother had established a nursery school within the compound.

Evidence showed that Bassey occupied a two-bedroom apartment attached to a large hall in the compound alongside his younger brother, Emmanuel Bassey. The hall, initially built for school activities, was later leased to Living Faith Church for an annual rent of N150,000 with the approval of the deceased’s father, Emana Bassey, a retired school principal. The church reportedly began using the hall even before completing payment.

Umoh was later posted to head the branch as its pioneer resident pastor.

Testimony before the court revealed that on the day of the incident, neighbours saw the pastor enter the compound. Shortly afterward, cries of “Jesus” were heard from within the premises. The pastor later emerged wearing a white garment stained with blood, explaining that he had fallen while trying to fix a banner.

Bassey was not seen again alive. On December 26, 2020, his decomposing body was discovered in his room, wrapped in a mat and bearing multiple stab wounds. A butcher’s knife was found beside him. Investigators arrested Umoh after determining he was the last person seen with the deceased and could not give a satisfactory explanation for the blood on his clothes.

He was arraigned on December 6, 2021, on a one-count charge of murder and pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, the prosecution called six witnesses, including the deceased’s father. Emana Bassey testified that shortly after the church started operating in the hall, the pastor sought permission to store church property inside his son’s flat because the hall lacked doors and windows. The request was approved.

However, the arrangement led to friction. The deceased frequently had to leave school to grant access to the stored items, incurring transport costs that were not reimbursed. To ease the inconvenience, his father instructed him to give the pastor a spare key.

The court was told that after the spare key was handed over, some personal belongings belonging to the deceased’s late mother began to disappear. Suspicion fell on the pastor, who claimed he had misplaced the key. The matter was escalated to the church’s senior pastor, Owoidoho Akpan, who testified for the defence and said he gave the deceased N5,000 to change the locks. Following the change, no further losses were reported.

The prosecution also established that disagreements later arose between the deceased and the pastor over rent payments allegedly meant for repairs of the property.

In a judgment that lasted over two hours, Justice Ette described the matter as deeply troubling. He noted the efforts of the deceased’s late mother in developing the property for educational use and lamented the circumstances that led to her son’s death.

The judge ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. He condemned the act, highlighting the gravity of a religious leader committing such an offence within church premises.

“Life is sacred,” the judge said, adding that it was disturbing for someone who professed to represent spiritual values to violate them so profoundly. He concluded that those who betray public trust in such a manner must face the full consequences of the law.

Umoh was subsequently sentenced to death by hanging.