The quiet neighbourhood of Ifa Ikot Ubo in Uyo was gripped by grief and disbelief as the Akwa Ibom State High Court sentenced a 29-year-old pastor of Living Faith Church Worldwide, popularly known as Winners Chapel, to death by hanging for the murder of his landlord, a promising first-class student of the University of Uyo.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, February 19, 2026, Justice Gabriel Ette found Prince Emmanuel Umoh, Resident Pastor of Winners Chapel, Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon Branch, guilty of murdering 23-year-old Gabriel Bassey Edward, a 500-level Civil Engineering student, whose life was cut short at the threshold of academic distinction.

What began as a seemingly minor disagreement over access keys, missing household items and rent proceeds spiralled into a brutal killing that shocked both the Christian community and residents of Uyo.

Gabriel was described by family and neighbours as focused, disciplined and determined to succeed. Following the death of his mother in December 2019, he moved into her property at Ifa Ikot Ubo to safeguard the estate and stay closer to school.

His late mother had established a nursery school within the compound, a modest educational vision that would later become the backdrop of tragedy.

Gabriel occupied a two-bedroom flat attached to a long hall originally constructed for school activities. With the consent of his father, Emana Bassey Edward, a retired school principal, the hall was rented to a church branch for worship at an annual rent of N150,000. The church commenced services before completing payment, and Umoh was subsequently posted there as pioneer resident pastor. No one foresaw that the arrangement would end in bloodshed.

From Dispute to Deadly Violence – trouble reportedly began months later when the hall lacked proper doors and windows. The pastor requested permission to store church chairs and equipment inside Gabriel’s flat for safekeeping and the family obliged.

However, the arrangement soon became inconvenient. Each time access was needed, Gabriel often away at school had to return home, incurring transport costs. At his father’s directive, he eventually handed over a spare key to the pastor to ease the process. That decision, the court heard, proved fatal.

Personal belongings of Gabriel’s late mother, including clothes, kitchenware and other valuables, allegedly began disappearing. Suspicion fell on the pastor, who had unrestricted access. When confronted, he claimed the key had been lost.

The matter was escalated to the church’s senior leadership, which provided N5,000 for replacement of the locks. After the locks were changed, the reported thefts ceased. But tensions deepened, particularly over disagreements concerning rent proceeds allegedly meant for property repairs.

On December 21, 2020, neighbours saw the pastor enter Gabriel’s compound. Moments later, chilling screams of “Jesus!” pierced the air.

Witnesses told the court that the pastor later emerged in a white garment stained with blood, claiming he had fallen while attempting to hang a church banner and since then, Gabriel was not seen alive again.

Five days later, on December 26, barely 24 hours after Christmas his decomposing body was discovered in his room, wrapped in a mat. He had sustained multiple lacerations, and a butcher’s knife was found beside him.

Investigation later established that, the pastor was the last person seen with the deceased and could not satisfactorily explain the bloodstains on his clothing, and was arrested and charged with murder.

The trial commenced on December 6, 2021, with the defendant pleading not guilty as the prosecution called six witnesses, including Gabriel’s father, who narrated the gradual breakdown of trust between his son and the pastor.

In a judgment lasting over two hours, Justice Ette described the case as “very sympathetic,” reflecting on the painful irony that a young man was killed within premises originally built by his late mother to educate children.

The court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

According to the Presiding judge, “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 denigrate the very essence of his calling and take someone’s life in the premises of the church.”

The court accordingly sentenced the pastor, Prince Emmanuel Umoh to death by hanging.

In a heartbreaking twist, Gabriel’s academic results were released after his death. He had graduated with First Class Honours in Civil Engineering.

For his family, the verdict may bring closure, but not healing. For the residents of Ifa Ikot Ubo and the wider Uyo community, the case remains a sobering reminder that violence can erupt from seemingly trivial issues.

Six years after the screams shattered a quiet compound at Ifa Ikot Ubo, Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, justice has finally spoken. Yet, for a father who lost a son, and for a nation that lost a brilliant young engineer, the silence he left behind endures.