A’Ibom court sentences factional village head, two others to death over murder

The Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a factional village head of Ikot Ebita in Nsit Atai Local Government Area, Chief Effiong Okon Ukime, along with his secretary, Sylvanus Edet Effiong, and his Chief Security Officer, Ubong Udo Okpon, to death by hanging for the murder of 28-year-old Archibong Edem Bassey.

The court found the three men guilty of murder following the killing of Bassey over a dispute concerning palm fruit harvesting rights in the village.

Background to the crisis

The crisis in Ikot Ebita began after the death of the substantive village head, Chief John Nyong Ekanem.

Following his burial, two contenders emerged to fill the vacant stool:

Chief Aniedi Etim Ikpe, the former Village Council Chairman

Chief Ukime Okon Effiong

The contest divided the village into two opposing factions. The convicts aligned with Chief Aniedi Etim Ikpe, while the family of the deceased village head supported Chief Ukime Okon Effiong.

The division fueled hostility and a power struggle, particularly over control of key economic resources, notably palm fruit plantations.

Seizure of control

Evidence before the court showed that the faction associated with the defendants eventually gained dominance in the village.

They assumed control of the administration and unilaterally determined how palm fruits would be harvested. To consolidate their authority, they hired security guards from Ikot Itie Udung, a neighbouring community.

The guards, placed under the supervision of the third convict, Ubong Udo Okpon, were reportedly paid ₦25,000 monthly.

The defendants’ extrajudicial statements, admitted in evidence as Exhibits 3 and 5 without objection, confirmed these arrangements.

Prior threats

In August 2021, the deceased harvested palm fruits from his personal plantation. Security operatives arrested him and brought him before the first convict, who was acting as the factional village head.

He was allegedly assaulted, fined ₦1,000 for his release, and warned not to return to the plantation.

According to the first prosecution witness (PW1), Sunday Edet Bassey, the deceased’s senior brother, the defendants warned:

“Tell your brother to stay away from this palm plantation, or else if he enters again, they will kill him.”

The court noted that this testimony was not challenged during cross-examination and therefore accepted it as established.

Events of September 10, 2021

On September 10, 2021, the faction led by the first convict reportedly lifted a ban on palm fruit harvesting.

That day, the deceased informed a witness, Gabriel Etim Effiong, that he was going to his plantation to protect his palm trees. PW1 testified that he left home around 8:00 a.m. for the farm.

He was never seen alive again.

The following day, September 11, 2021, his body was discovered in his plantation with signs of violence. A ladder was found placed against a palm tree; his machete was missing, and his body bore fractures.

Police investigation

The incident was reported at the Nsit Atai Divisional Police Headquarters.

The convicts also appeared at the station, claiming they had come to report that the deceased was missing before his body was discovered.

However, the court held that the conduct, when considered alongside prior threats, the power struggle, and the surrounding circumstances, was inconsistent with innocence.

Court’s findings

The trial judge, Justice Ette, held that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that:

A conspiracy existed among the defendants.

The defendants caused the death of the deceased.

The act was intentional and preceded by threats.

The court relied heavily on the earlier threat to kill the deceased, the defendants’ established control of the plantation, the violent nature of the death, and the unchallenged testimony of prosecution witnesses.

The three men were convicted on charges of conspiracy and murder.

Sentencing remarks

In a strongly worded judgment, Justice Ette condemned what he described as an abuse of traditional authority.

“When men decide to play god at the slightest opportunity that power falls into their laps, they should not fail to exercise such power within the tenets of mercy and righteousness,” the judge said. “Otherwise, power, the famous banana peel, has a canny way of showing such men of inordinate ambition that when you ride a tiger, you end up as a meal.”

He further observed that it was unjust and condemnable to take a person’s life on his own property.

Quoting a biblical principle, the judge added: “Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.”

Justice Ette then pronounced the sentence:

“Having concluded that you violated the laws of nature and of this great country, I hereby sentence the three of you to death by hanging. May the good Lord have mercy on your souls, if He so desires.”