Winners Chapel pastor sentence to death for murder

A 29-year-old resident pastor of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel), Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon branch, Emmanuel Umoh, has been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of his landlord, Gabriel Edward.

Penpushing reports that Justice Gabriel Ette of the State High Court in, Akwa Ibom State sentenced the cleric, stressing that life is sacred and those who claim to represent God must protect it, not destroy it.

The pastor bagged death sentence after the court found him guilty of stabbing the 23-year-old final-year civil engineering student of the University of Uyo to death on December 21, 2020 at Ifa Ikot Ubo, Uyo.

Penpushing further reports that results released after his death showed he graduated with a first-class degree, had moved into his late mother’s property to safeguard the estate and stay closer to school.

The sources added that before her death in December 2019, she(mother) had established a nursery school in the compound, while the hall built for the school was later rented to Living Faith Church for worship at an annual rent of N150,000.

Penpushing also reports that this was with the approval of his father, Emana Edward, a retired principal, and the church began using the hall even before completing payment, and Umoh was later posted there as pioneer resident pastor.

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, and to ease access, Edward, on his father’s instruction, gave the pastor a spare key.

Penpushing reports that sources added that, soon after, the belongings of the deceased’s late mother reportedly began to disappear, and when confronted, the pastor claimed he had lost the key.

The sources added that locks were later changed after the church’s senior pastor provided funds, and the theft stopped, according to the evidence before the court, while tension later developed between the duo over rent money meant for repairs.

Penpushing further reports that on December 21, 2020, witnesses saw Umoh enter the compound, while neighbours later heard loud screams of “Jesus” from inside the premises, and few minutes later, the pastor emerged wearing a white garment stained with blood, claiming he had fallen while hanging a banner.

The source stated that on December 26, 2025, decomposing body was discovered in the room, wrapped in a mat with deep cuts, as well as butcher’s knife found beside him, and being the last person seen with the deceased and unable to explain the bloodstains, the pastor was arrested and later charged with murder.

Penpushing also reports that the defendant was arraigned on December 6,2021, on a murder charge, which he pleaded not guilty to, while the prosecution called six witnesses, including the deceased’s father, who narrated the events leading to the tragedy.

The judge delivering judgement which lasted for over two-hour, described the case as very sympathetic, recalling the efforts of the deceased’s late mother to build a future for her children.

Penpushing reports that the judge held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and condemned the irony of a religious leader committing murder within church premises.

The judge stated that it was shocking that a man of faith could kill in a place meant for worship, asking what the young student did to deserve such a cruel death, and reflected on how the victim cried out “Jesus” while being attacked, yet mercy never moved the attacker.

Penpushing further reports that the judge observed that society is unsafe when people who pretend to be righteous commit evil, declaring that justice must prevail, stressing that life is sacred, and those who represent God on earth should teach that.

“Life is sacred, and those who represent God on earth should teach that. It is an irony and quite appalling when a man, who claims to be the representative of the divine on earth, stoops so low as to take someone’s life in the premises of the church’, he added.

‘He heard the deceased scream, ‘Jesus! Yet the defendant inflicted the second cut and many more. Today is judgement day on earth. I think men like him are not to be allowed a space in a free society. Having found you guilty as charged, I hereby sentence you to death by hanging’, the judge declared

Penpushing also reports that the prosecution counsel, Iniobong Essang, speaking in the courtroom shortly after the judgement, said the case was deeply emotional and that justice had prevailed.

The prosecution counsel praised the judge’s well-considered judgement and noting that justice, though delayed, was not denied, adding that the day was quite emotional for him, noting that some cases inevitably find their way into our hearts,

Penpushing reports that the prosecution added that the verdict brought some comfort to the victim’s family and prayed for the repose of Edward’s soul, but for deceased family, the judgement closes a long and painful chapter, but the loss of a promising young life — a first-class graduate cut down in his prime — remains a wound that time may never fully heal.

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