An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a dismissed soldier, Corporal Stephen Iweh, to death by hanging for the murder of 42-year-old Christopher Enobong Jimmy, Manager of a Clearing and Forwarding Company in Port Harcourt.

Justice Bassey Nkanang, who delivered the judgment, found Iweh guilty on a three-count charge of murder, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of firearms. He was sentenced to death by hanging on the first two counts and handed a 10-year prison term on the third.

The incident occurred on May 23, 2021, along the East-West Road in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area. Jimmy had offered Iweh, who was in full military uniform, a lift from Trailer Park in Onne, Rivers State, to Ikot Abasi.

According to court records, the soldier shot Jimmy dead at Oboro Junction in Ikot Abasi after they had stopped briefly. He fled with the victim’s grey Toyota Matrix and other valuables.

Investigations revealed that Iweh, a father of three and native of Ameke Nkor, Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, had abandoned his duty post at the Army Store, 6 Battalion, Ibagwa, Abak, on the day of the killing. He was later traced to Andy Guest House in Ukanafun, where he was arrested, and an AK-47 rifle was recovered.

The rifle was one he admitted to having “picked up in Dambou, Borno State, in 2018” and kept illegally as a personal weapon.

During allocutus, Iweh pleaded for leniency and begged for a “soft landing,” but the court rejected his plea.

The late Christopher Jimmy is survived by his widow, Arit, who tearfully told the court that her husband had travelled to Ikot Abasi to visit his sister but never returned.