Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a 33-year-old church usher, Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson, to death by hanging or lethal injection for the murder of his girlfriend, Emem Monday Effanga, a 29-year-old makeup artist. Justice Ekpo Ntekim delivered the judgment on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, convicting Nelson on a two-count charge of murder and stealing. The court found that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, establishing that Nelson intentionally caused the death of Effanga during a violent altercation at her residence on Aka Road, Uyo, on the morning of February 6, 2025 — a date that coincided with Nelson's birthday.
According to the facts presented during the trial, Nelson visited Effanga at her home around 7am on that fateful day. The purpose of his visit, he later told investigators, was to use her phone to upload his birthday photos to social media. What began as a seemingly routine request quickly escalated into a violent struggle. Nelson allegedly attempted to take possession of the phone, and when Effanga resisted, he slammed her head against the wall with such force that she became dazed. He then proceeded to strangle her to death. After ensuring she was dead, Nelson fled the scene, taking her mobile phone with him.
The prosecution called several witnesses, including neighbours who heard a commotion from Effanga's apartment that morning but did not intervene, believing it to be a minor domestic dispute. A forensic pathologist testified that the cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation, compounded by blunt force trauma to the head. The stolen phone was later recovered from Nelson after his arrest, and forensic analysis confirmed that he had used it to access his social media accounts shortly after the time of the killing.
Nelson evaded justice for only two days. On February 8, 2025, at approximately 2am, security operatives tracked him to a church on Nsikak Eduok Avenue in Uyo, where he was attending a night vigil programme. He was arrested without incident. During interrogation, Nelson reportedly confessed to the crime, providing a detailed account of the events that led to Effanga's death. He claimed that the killing was not premeditated but resulted from a sudden loss of control during the argument over the phone. However, the court rejected this defence, noting that the level of violence used — slamming the victim's head against a wall and then strangling her — was inconsistent with a mere loss of temper.
In his judgment, Justice Ntekim described the killing as "brutal, callous, and devoid of any regard for human life." He noted that Nelson had been in a romantic relationship with the deceased and had visited her voluntarily, yet he chose to end her life over a cellular phone. "The accused was not a stranger to the deceased. She trusted him enough to allow him into her home at an early hour. He repaid that trust by taking her life," the judge stated. He further observed that Nelson's actions after the crime — fleeing with the phone and attempting to enjoy his birthday on social media while his girlfriend lay dead — demonstrated a "complete absence of remorse."
The judge convicted Nelson on Count One (murder) and Count Two (stealing), but ruled that the sentence for stealing was subsumed under the death penalty for murder. Justice Ntekim ordered that Nelson be hanged by the neck until dead or be executed by lethal injection, at the discretion of the state government. He also ordered that the convict pay compensation to the family of the deceased, though the specific amount was not disclosed in the judgment.
Nelson, who was identified as an usher in a new-generation church in Uyo, appeared visibly shaken when the sentence was read. His defence counsel has indicated an intention to appeal, arguing that the trial court erred in rejecting the defence of provocation. Legal analysts, however, note that under Nigerian criminal jurisprudence, provocation is a partial defence that reduces murder to manslaughter only when the accused can show that he lost self‑control due to an act of the deceased that would cause a reasonable person to act irrationally. In this case, the defence failed to establish any provocative act by Effanga that could have justified such a violent reaction.
The case has drawn significant attention in Akwa Ibom State, where domestic violence and intimate partner homicides remain a serious concern. Women's rights groups have welcomed the judgment, describing it as a strong deterrent against gender‑based violence. "This sentence sends a clear message that the life of a woman is not disposable. The court has affirmed that killing a partner over a dispute, no matter how heated, is murder and will be punished accordingly," said Iniobong Ekanem, a gender activist based in Uyo.
The family of Emem Monday Effanga, the deceased makeup artist, expressed relief at the outcome of the trial. A family spokesperson told reporters that they had waited over a year for justice and were grateful that the court had delivered a verdict commensurate with the gravity of the crime. "Emem was a vibrant young woman with a promising future. She was taken from us in the most brutal manner imaginable. No sentence can bring her back, but we are satisfied that the law has taken its course," the spokesperson said.
Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson will be held on death row pending the outcome of his appeal. If the appeal fails, he will be executed in accordance with the laws of Akwa Ibam State, where the death penalty remains a legal sanction for murder. As of the time of this report, the Akwa Ibom State Government had not indicated when or whether the sentence would be carried out, but the judgment has already entered the annals of the state's legal history as one of the few death sentences handed down for a crime of passion involving intimate partners.
For the friends and family of Emem Effanga, the verdict brings a measure of closure. For Nelson, the church usher who wanted to post birthday photos, the only birthday he will ever see again is the one he celebrated on the morning of February 6, 2025 — before he turned his girlfriend's home into a murder scene.
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