IKOT EKPENE – An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Ikot Ekpene has sentenced a commercial tricycle (keke) ticket seller, Iboro Sunday Akpan, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of armed robbery, conspiracy and attempted murder.
Delivering judgment on Friday in Charge No. HT/25C/2025, Justice Augustine D. Odokwo held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the defendant on all three counts.
The court sentenced Akpan to 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy, life imprisonment for attempted murder, and death by hanging for armed robbery, ruling that the custodial sentences would be subsumed under the capital punishment.
Akpan, an indigene of Ikot Idaha in Ikono Local Government Area, was prosecuted by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice over an armed robbery attack that occurred in the early hours of July 23, 2025, at Annex B Estate, Ikot Otor, Ikot Ekpene.
During the trial, the prosecution’s principal witness, Barrister Camillus Ben, told the court that he was awakened around 1:23 a.m. by a loud noise at the estate gate and encountered an unmasked intruder whom he immediately identified as Akpan, a ticket seller he had known for several years along Umuahia Road in Ikot Ekpene.
The witness said he recognised the defendant from a distance of about four feet before fleeing to safety. He later sustained gunshot injuries to his ribs and hand when armed robbers opened fire as police officers responded to a distress call.
The prosecution also called a police officer attached to the Divisional Crack Team, who testified that officers recovered firearms and expended cartridges at the crime scene following a gun battle with the robbers.
According to the officer, one suspect was killed during the operation, while another escaped with gunshot wounds before he was later tracked to Imo State.
The victim’s wife, who was over eight months pregnant at the time, narrated how armed robbers invaded their residence, carted away cash and jewellery valued at N630,000 and attempted to compel her to transfer money through a Point-of-Sale (POS) machine.
In his defence, Akpan denied participating in the robbery, insisting he was merely a farmer and ticket seller and was nowhere near the scene of the crime.
However, Justice Odokwo dismissed the defence, describing the evidence before the court as a case of recognition rather than mistaken identity, stressing that the victim had known the defendant before the incident.
The judge also rejected the defendant’s alibi, noting that it lacked sufficient details for verification and was contradicted by evidence presented during the trial.
“The prosecution has built a watertight and unshakeable case against the defendant,” the court held.
Justice Odokwo further ruled that under the doctrine of common intention, Akpan bore criminal responsibility for the shooting of the victim during the robbery operation, regardless of the fact that another member of the gang fired the shot.
Describing the attack as a violent criminal enterprise that nearly claimed the victim’s life, the judge emphasised that the punishment prescribed under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act for armed robbery is mandatory.
Pronouncing the sentence, Justice Odokwo declared: “The sentence of this Court is that you, Iboro Sunday Akpan, shall be hanged by the neck until you be dead. And may the Almighty God have mercy upon your soul.”
The court also ordered that the firearms and ammunition tendered as exhibits be returned to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command for official destruction, while all other exhibits would remain in court custody pending the determination of any appeal.
