A former Nigerian Army corporal, Stephen Iweh, has been sentenced to death by hanging by the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo, for the murder of a Port Harcourt-based businessman, Christopher Enobong Jimmy.
Justice Bassey Nkanang delivered the verdict on Thursday, convicting Iweh on three counts: murder, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of firearms.
The court held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The incident, which occurred on May 23, 2021, took place along the East-West Road in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area.
Jimmy, 42, had offered Iweh, then in full military uniform a lift in his grey Toyota Matrix from the Trailer Park in Onne, Rivers State, to Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom.
According to court records, the two men stopped briefly at Oboro Junction in Ikot Abasi, where they ate and rested.
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There, Iweh shot Jimmy at close range, stole his car and other valuables, and fled the scene.
Investigators later traced the suspect to a guest house in Ukanafun, where he was arrested. The murder weapon, an AK-47 rifle, was recovered.
Iweh, a father of three and native of Ameke Nkor in Imo State, admitted during interrogation that he had kept the rifle illegally since allegedly retrieving it from Borno State in 2018.
On the day of the killing, the soldier had abandoned his post at the Army Store of the 6 Battalion, Ibagwa in Abak, to carry out the crime.
In his ruling, Justice Nkanang sentenced Iweh to death by hanging for both murder and armed robbery, and to 10 years imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Before sentencing, Iweh pleaded with the court for leniency, asking for a “soft landing.” The judge rejected the plea.
The victim’s widow, Arit Jimmy, 34, wept in court as she recounted how her husband had left Port Harcourt to visit family in Ikot Abasi and never returned.
