By Deborah Onyofufeke, Abuja
After Justice Bassey Nkanang of the Akwa Ibom State High Court yesterday read out the judgment sentencing Uduak Akpan, the killer of the 26-year-old Akwa Ibom job seeker, Iniubong Umoren, in Uyo last year to death by hanging, the convicted rapist attempted to escape from the courtroom but was overpowered by security officials.
The court convicted Akpan, for raping and murdering Umoren, whom he had lured out of her home on April 29, 2021, in the guise of a fake job interview appointment for her. The Judge, who also found Akpan guilty of rape, sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The judge had stated that the prosecution has been able to prove beyond doubt, that Akpan was guilty of rape and murder.
Meanwhile, Akpan’s father and sister who were the 2nd and 3rd defendant in the case were discharged and acquitted
Recall that the victim’s friend, Uduak Umoh, had cried out on twitter where she tweeted that her friend had sent her a 1 second audio record on WhatsApp, after which she called her back to know if she wanted to talk to her about something but what she heard was her friends voice on the other end screaming for help. That was the last ever seen or heard of Umoren.
Investigations and cries of Nigerians to locate Umoren, led the police to Akpan, a suspected serial rapist and killer, who had raped, killed, and buried her in a shallow grave around his home.
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The body was later exhumed from the shallow grave by the Police team, after which, Umoren was buried in her hometown in Akwa Ibom State
The slain jobseeker before her demise, was a fresh graduate of Philosophy, from the University of Uyo, job hunting, while awaiting the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme mobilisation
Sadly, Umoren did not live to see her NYSC call up letter or her final-year result which showed she graduated as one of the top students in her department.
