Akwa Ibom Court Sentences Winners Chapel Pastor to Death for Murder of First-Class UNIUYO Student
“Akwa Ibom High Court sentences Winners Chapel pastor Prince Emmanuel Umoh to death by hanging for the 2020 murder of University of Uyo first-class Engineering student Gabriel Bassey Edward. Justice delivered after five years.”
An Akwa Ibom State High Court has sentenced Prince Emmanuel Umoh, a resident pastor of Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel, to death by hanging for the murder of Gabriel Bassey Edward, a final-year Engineering student of the University of Uyo.
The judgment was delivered on February 19, 2026, by Justice Gabriel Nkanang of the Akwa Ibom State High Court, five years after the tragic incident that occurred in December 2020.
Umoh was found guilty of murdering the 23-year-old student at his residence in Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Edward had rented part of his home to Umoh, who used the space as a church parish.
Court proceedings revealed that Umoh was the last person seen with the deceased. Neighbours testified that they heard distressing screams coming from the building on the day of the incident. They also told the court they saw the pastor fetching water with buckets allegedly stained with blood. When questioned at the time, he reportedly claimed that the screams were the result of prayer sessions.
During a police search of Umoh’s residence, authorities recovered items belonging to the deceased.
Gabriel Edward’s academic results, released posthumously, showed that he graduated with a First-Class degree in Engineering — a revelation that further deepened public outrage over the killing.
Reacting to the judgment, human rights lawyer Inihebe Effiong described the verdict as “cheering news” for the family of the late student.
“I have just received cheering news from the family of my late Facebook friend, Gabriel Bassey Edward, who was gruesomely murdered in December 2020 by his tenant, a self-proclaimed pastor,” Effiong said.
He commended the trial judge for dispensing justice “without fear or favour” and praised the prosecuting counsel, Iniobong Essang of the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice, for her diligence and commitment to the case.
Effiong also urged churches across the country to conduct thorough background checks before ordaining ministers.
“As the lawyer to the deceased family, I admonish churches to do thorough screening of those they intend to ordain as ministers,” he stated.
The victim’s father, Emana Edward, and his brother, Emmanuel Bassey Edward, were also commended for their persistence in seeking justice.
The case, which attracted widespread attention on social media at the time of the incident, has now concluded with the court’s verdict bringing a measure of closure to the bereaved family.
Mr Edward, 23, was a final-year civil engineering student of the University of Uyo. Results released after his death showed he graduated with a first-class degree.
Justice Gabriel Ette delivered the judgement on Thursday after finding Mr Umoh guilty of stabbing the young student to death on 21 December 2020 at Ifa Ikot Ubo, Uyo.
Mr Edward had moved into his late mother’s property to safeguard the estate and stay closer to school. Before her death in December 2019, his mother had established a nursery school in the compound.
The hall built for the school was later rented to Living Faith Church for worship at an annual rent of N150,000, with the approval of his father, Emana Edward, a retired principal. The church began using the hall even before completing payment, and Mr Umoh was later posted there as pioneer resident pastor, a judiciary reporter in Uyo, Harrison Essien, wrote on Facebook.
The deceased lived in a two-bedroom flat in the compound with his younger brother. Church items were stored in the flat after the pastor requested access for security reasons. To ease access, Mr Edward, on his father’s instruction, gave the pastor a spare key.
Soon after, the belongings of the deceased’s late mother reportedly began to disappear. When confronted, the pastor claimed he had lost the key. Locks were later changed after the church’s senior pastor provided funds, and the theft stopped, according to the evidence before the court.
Tension later developed between the two men over rent money meant for repairs.
On 21 December 2020, witnesses saw Mr Umoh enter the compound. Neighbours later heard loud screams of “Jesus” from inside the premises. Moments later, the pastor emerged wearing a white garment stained with blood, claiming he had fallen while hanging a banner.
Mr Edward was not seen alive again.
On 26 December, his decomposing body was discovered in his room, wrapped in a mat with deep cuts. A butcher’s knife was found beside him. Being the last person seen with the deceased and unable to explain the bloodstains, Mr Umoh was arrested and later charged with murder.
