By Ubong Sampson– Uyo
Two men have been sentenced to death for killing their uncle, one Mr. Imo Effiong Edet over landed property in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
32-year-old Joseph Usen Etim from Akpautong and 31-year-old Christopher Sunday Macaulay, a native of Obio Aduang both in Ibesikpo Asutan, were condemned today by an Uyo High Court, presided over by Justice Okon Okon.
Justice Okon held that the convicts confessed that an elder brother of the deceased contracted them to kill his younger brother, Mr. Imo Effiong Edet for refusing to give him their late father’s landed property.
The convicts said the elder brother promised them some part of the property, should they kill his brother, a deal they successfully carried out on 19th November, 2016.
The Court held that there was “admissible evidence that the deceased died instantaneously, following his attack by the accused, who inflicted matchet cuts on his head and slit his throat with a knife.”
Justice Okon, who described “the death as gory and gruesome, said the act was deliberate and intentional.”
According to him, “the evidence of the prosecution, including the statement by the wife and son of the deceased and the confession of the accused persons, have satisfied the essential elements of murder.”
“The sentence of this Court upon you, Joseph Usen Etim and Christopher Sunday Macaulay is that, each of you, be hanged by the neck, until you be dead. May God have mercy on your soul.” Justice Okon pronounced.
