Akwa Ibom Court Sentences Dismissed Soldier to D3ath by Hanging for M8rder of Businessman
An Akwa Ibom court has sentenced ex-soldier Stephen Iweh to d3ath for m8rder and robbery.
He f@tally shot Christopher Jimmy during a 2021 trip and stole his car.
An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo on Friday sentenced a dismissed soldier, Corporal Stephen Iweh of the Nigerian Army’s 6 Battalion, Ibagwa in Abak, to d3ath by hanging for the killing of a 42-year-old man, Christopher Enobong Jimmy.
The incident occurred on May 23, 2021, along the East–West Road in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area. Late Jimmy, who managed a clearing and forwarding firm in Port Harcourt, had reportedly given Corporal Iweh a lift from Trailer Park in Onne, Rivers State, to Ikot Abasi.
Investigators revealed that at Oboro Junction in Ikot Abasi, the 39-year-old soldier shot Jimmy d€ad, seized his vehicle and valuables, and fled the scene. Iweh, a father of three, had illegally held on to an AK-47 rifle he claimed to have picked up in Borno State in 2018 and kept for personal use. On the day of the crime, he was meant to be on duty at the Army Store in 6 Battalion, but abandoned his post.
Court records showed he was later tracked to Andy Guest House in Ukanafun, where he was arrested and the rifle recovered.
Delivering judgment, Justice Bassey Nkanang held that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Iweh, originally from Ameke Nkor in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, m8rdered Christopher Jimmy, robbed him of his Toyota Matrix while armed with an AK-47 rifle, and unlawfully possessed a prohibited firearm.
The court convicted him on three counts, sentencing him to d€ath by hanging for m8rder, d€ath by hanging for armed robbery, and 10 years’ imprisonment for illegal possession of firearms.
Before sentencing, the convict pleaded for leniency and asked for what he called a “soft landing,” but the judge declined the request.
The late Christopher Jimmy is survived by his wife, Arit, who recounted tearfully that her husband had travelled from Port Harcourt to visit his sister in Ikot Abasi but never returned home.
