Winners Chapel Pastor Sentenced to Death by Hanging for Killing Landlord

 

A 29-year-old Resident Pastor of Living Faith Church Worldwide, popularly known as Winners Chapel, at the Ifa Ikot Ubo–Ifa Ikot Okpon branch, Emmanuel Umoh, has been sentenced to death by hanging by an Akwa Ibom State High Court for the murder of his landlord, Gabriel Bassey Edward.

The verdict was delivered on Thursday by Justice Gabriel Ette, who found Umoh guilty of killing Edward, a 500-level Civil Engineering student of University of Uyo.
Academic records released after Edward’s death showed he graduated with First Class honours. Court documents further revealed that he had moved into his late mother’s property at Ifa Ikot Ubo to safeguard the estate and stay closer to school.
Before her passing in December 2019, his mother had established a nursery school within the compound. Edward lived in a two-bedroom flat attached to a long hall in the compound alongside his younger brother.
The hall, originally built for school activities, was later rented to the church for worship at an annual rent of ₦150,000. The agreement received the approval of Edward’s father, Emana Bassey Edward, a retired school principal, and the church began using the hall before completing payment.
Umoh was subsequently posted to the branch as its first Resident Pastor.
Evidence presented in court showed that on December 21, 2020, the pastor was seen entering the compound. Neighbours later reported hearing repeated shouts of “Jesus” from within the premises. Shortly afterward, he was seen leaving the compound wearing a white garment stained with blood, which he claimed resulted from a fall while attempting to hang a banner.
However, on December 26, 2020, a day after Christmas, Edward’s decomposing body was discovered in his room. The body was wrapped in a mat and bore several deep cuts, reportedly inflicted with a butcher’s knife recovered at the scene.
Umoh was arrested as the last person seen with the deceased and for having blood stains on his clothing without a satisfactory explanation. He was later charged with one count of murder and arraigned on December 6, 2021, where he pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution called six witnesses, including the deceased’s father, to establish its case. He told the court that after the church began using the hall, the pastor sought permission to store church chairs and other items inside Edward’s flat because the hall lacked doors and windows. The request was approved.
The arrangement later created tension, as Edward had to return home whenever the pastor needed access to the stored items, even when he was away, without being reimbursed for the inconvenience.
Following complaints, Edward’s father instructed him to give the pastor a spare key. Thereafter, personal belongings of Edward’s late mother — including clothes, plates, and other valuables — reportedly began to disappear.
Suspicion fell on the pastor due to his access to the key. When questioned, he claimed the key had been lost. The matter was reported to the church’s Senior Pastor, Owoidoho Etuk Akpan, who later testified as a defence witness.
Akpan told the court he gave the family ₦5,000 to replace the locks, after which no further items were reported missing.
The court also heard that friction later developed between the pastor and the deceased over rent allegedly paid for the hall and intended for repairs.
In a judgment that lasted more than two hours, Justice Ette described the case as deeply painful, recalling the effort the deceased’s late mother invested in building the property for educational purposes before her death.
The court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, emphasizing that life is sacred and that anyone who betrays public trust, particularly within a religious setting, must face the full weight of the law.