A state high court sitting in Uyo has sentenced Uduak Frank Akpan to death by hanging for raping and murdering a female job seeker, Iniubong Umoren.
Akpan was arraigned for the gruesome murder of Umoren, whom he lured under the pretext of offering her a job, before he raped, killed, and buried her in a shallow grave on April 29, 2021.
He had confessed while he was paraded that he raped and killed the 26-year-old job seeker after luring her through advertising for phony job vacancies.
The 20-year-old suspect, who was paraded alongside his father, Mr. Frank Akpan, said he killed the job seeker to avenge what runs girls and prostitutes did to him.
Akpan had also in July, pleaded guilty to murder when he was first arraigned before Justice Bennett Illaumoh, who was later transferred from Uyo to Itu Judicial Division.
But in a twist of event, when he was re-arraigned before Justice Bassey Nkanang on November 4, Akpan made a u-turn and pleaded not guilty to the two-count charges of murder and rape preferred against him.
Umoren, before her death, was a fresh Philosophy graduate of the University of Uyo. She was waiting for her deployment for the mandatory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) Programme.
