A State High Court sitting in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State in southern Nigeria, has sentenced a 29-year-old pastor of Living Faith Church, widely known as Winners Chapel, to death by hanging for the murder of his landlord, Gabriel Edward.
Justice Gabriel Ette delivered the ruling on Thursday, February 20, 2026, after finding Emmanuel Umoh guilty of killing the 23-year-old student on Monday, December 21, 2020.
The victim was a final-year civil engineering student at the University of Uyo, a public institution located in Akwa Ibom State. Academic results released after his death confirmed that he graduated with a first-class degree.
Mr Umoh served as the resident pastor of the Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon branch of Living Faith Church, one of Nigeria’s largest Pentecostal Christian denominations.
The court heard that the church had rented a hall within the compound of the victim’s late mother for worship at an annual rent of ₦150,000. Mr Edward had moved into a two-bedroom flat in the same compound after his mother’s death in December 2019 to oversee the property and remain close to school.
According to evidence presented during the trial, the pastor requested to store church items in the flat and was given a spare key on the instruction of the victim’s father, Emana Edward, a retired school principal. Shortly afterward, household items reportedly began to disappear. When confronted, the pastor claimed he had lost the key. The locks were later replaced and the reported theft stopped.
Tension later developed between the two men over rent money intended for repairs in the compound.
On December 21, 2020, witnesses saw the pastor enter the premises. Neighbours later reported hearing loud screams of “Jesus” from inside the compound. Shortly afterward, Mr Umoh was seen leaving with bloodstains on his white garment, claiming he had fallen while hanging a banner.
The victim was not seen alive again. On December 26, 2020, his decomposing body was discovered in his room. It had been wrapped in a mat and showed deep cuts. A butcher’s knife was recovered at the scene.
Investigators arrested Mr Umoh after establishing he was the last person seen with the deceased and could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the blood on his clothing. He was arraigned on December 6, 2021, and pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.
During the trial, the prosecution called six witnesses, including the victim’s father. In a judgement that lasted more than two hours, Justice Ette described the case as “very sympathetic” and held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge stated:
“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 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.”
Reacting after the verdict, prosecution counsel Iniobong Essang said:
“Today is quite emotional for me. Some cases inevitably find their way into our hearts,” adding that justice, though delayed, was not denied.
The ruling brings to an end a trial that lasted several years and drew attention within the local community. For the victim’s family, it marks the close of a painful chapter, though the loss of a promising young graduate remains deeply felt.