Court Sentences Church Usher to Death for K!lling Girlfriend in Uyo

Court Sentences Church Usher to Death for K!lling Girlfriend in Uyo

A High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced 33-year-old Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson to death for the murder of his girlfriend, Emem Monday Effanga.

Nelson was convicted on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after the court found him guilty on a two-count charge of murder and stealing.

The convict, who reportedly served as an usher in a new-generation church in Uyo, was accused of killing Effanga, a makeup artist, before fleeing with her mobile phone.

According to reports presented before the court, the incident occurred around 7:00 a.m. on February 6, 2025 — the same day Nelson was celebrating his birthday.

Investigators said Nelson visited Effanga at her residence along Aka Road in Uyo to use her phone to upload birthday photos on social media. An argument later broke out between the two over the phone, leading to a violent confrontation.

During the altercation, Nelson allegedly slammed Effanga’s head against a wall and strangled her to death before escaping with the victim’s phone.

Security operatives later tracked and arrested him on February 8, 2025, during a night vigil at a church located on Nsikak Eduok Avenue in Uyo.

Reports indicated that Nelson confessed to the crime during interrogation.

Delivering judgment, Justice Ekpo Ntekim sentenced the defendant to death by hanging or lethal injection for the murder charge, adding that the punishment for stealing was subsumed under the principal sentence.