Court sentences usher to death for killing girlfriend in Akwa Ibom 

Honourable Justice Ekpo Ntekim of the Akwa Ibom State High Court has convicted and sentenced one Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson, aged 33, to death for killing his girlfriend, Emem Monday Effanga, in Uyo and stealing her phone.

The convict, who was one of the ushers in a new-generation church in Uyo, the state capital, was found guilty on a two-count charge of murder and stealing by the court.

He is to die by hanging or lethal injection for murder.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on February 6, 2025, which was the convict’s birthday, at about 7 a.m., when Nelson, who resided on Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, visited his girlfriend, the late Emem Monday Effanga, at her residence located at No. 102 Aka Road, opposite NEPA Line, Uyo, to use her phone to post his birthday pictures on social media.

He, however, ended up struggling with her over the phone, slammed her head against the wall and strangled her to death.

After committing the offence, Nelson fled with the deceased’s phone.

On February 8, 2025, he was tracked to a church located on Nsikak Eduok Avenue, Uyo, during a vigil programme at about 2 a.m.

During interrogation, he confessed to the crime.

In his judgment, the trial judge, Honourable Justice Ekpo Ntekim, held that the punishment for stealing was subsumed under the sentence for murder.