Court Sentences Church Usher to Death for Murdering Girlfriend Over Mobile Phone

It was judgement day for a church usher in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, as Justice Ekpo Ntekim of the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo convicted and sentenced 33-year-old Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson to death by hanging or lethal injection for the murder of his girlfriend, Emem Monday Effanga. Nelson, who served as an usher in one of the new-generation churches in Uyo, was found guilty on a two-count charge of murder and stealing. The judge ruled that the punishment for stealing was subsumed under the sentence for murder. According to the court, the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, leaving the judge with no discretion but to impose the maximum penalty prescribed by law for the offence of murder.

The tragic incident occurred at about 7:00 a.m. on February 6, 2025, which happened to be the convict’s birthday. Nelson reportedly left his residence on Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, and visited the deceased at her home located at No. 102 Aka Road, opposite NEPA Line, Uyo. He had allegedly gone to use her mobile phone to upload his birthday photographs on social media. However, what began as a simple request quickly escalated into a deadly altercation. An argument reportedly ensued between the two over the phone, leading to a physical struggle. During the altercation, Nelson slammed the victim’s head against the wall and then strangled her to death in a fit of rage. The victim, a young woman with her entire future ahead of her, lost her life in the most brutal manner imaginable over a dispute that should have been resolved with words rather than violence.

After committing the heinous crime, Nelson did not flee immediately in panic. Instead, he carefully arranged the corpse of his lover on her bed, positioning her body as if she were simply sleeping. He then fled from the scene with her new Android phone, leaving behind a scene of death and betrayal. The callous and calculated nature of the act—killing a loved one on his own birthday over a mobile phone—sent shockwaves through the community and left family members and neighbours in disbelief that a church usher, a person entrusted with maintaining order in the house of God, could commit such an atrocity. However, justice would catch up with the church usher just two days later, proving that no amount of religious piety can shield a murderer from the long arm of the law.

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Nelson’s luck ran out on February 8, 2025. He was tracked to his church located along Nsikak Eduok Avenue, Uyo, while attending a tarry night vigil (a night programme) at about 2:00 a.m. Security operatives apprehended him in the house of God, where he had sought refuge after committing the crime, perhaps believing that being in a sacred space would protect him from arrest. The irony was not lost on observers—a church usher, a man who helped maintain order during worship services, was found hiding in a church after taking the life of his own girlfriend. During police interrogation following his arrest, Nelson reportedly confessed to the crime, admitting that he had killed Effanga in a struggle over the mobile phone and that he had taken her phone before fleeing the scene.

Delivering judgment, Justice Ekpo Ntekim found the defendant guilty on the two-count charge and sentenced him to death. The judge noted that Nelson was represented pro bono by a legal luminary from Lagos, meaning the convict received free legal representation from a high-profile lawyer. The punishment for murder under Nigerian law carries no option—death by hanging or lethal injection is mandatory upon conviction for murder. “The punishment for stealing is subsumed under the sentence for murder,” Justice Ntekim held, meaning that the court saw no need to impose a separate penalty for the theft charge as the death sentence already addressed the gravity of the convict’s actions. The judge emphasized that the prosecution had successfully established all the ingredients of murder, including the intent to cause death or grievous bodily harm, and that the circumstances of the killing were particularly callous and unjustifiable.

This case is among several recent high-profile murder convictions in Akwa Ibom State and across Nigeria. In a similar ruling on February 20, 2026, the Akwa Ibom State High Court sentenced Prince Emmanuel Umoh, a 29-year-old resident pastor of Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) , to death by hanging for the murder of his landlord, Gabriel Bassey Edward. The court heard that the pastor stabbed the deceased, a 500-level Civil Engineering student who posthumously graduated with First Class honours from the University of Uyo. Justice Gabriel Ette, in delivering that verdict, described the irony of “a man who claims to be the representative of the divine on earth stooping so low as to denigrate the very essence of his calling and take someone’s life in the premises of the church.” The pastor had reportedly attacked his landlord during a dispute over unpaid rent and other issues.

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Additionally, a High Court sitting in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, sentenced 27-year-old Edinyanga Samuel Akpan to death by hanging for stabbing his uncle to death over witchcraft allegations in a case that spanned nearly nine years. Justice Pius Idiong ruled that the killing was intentional and unlawful, noting that murder remains a capital offence under Nigerian law, leaving the court with no discretion but to impose the prescribed sentence. The court rejected the defendant’s claims that he acted in self-defence, finding that the evidence clearly showed he was the aggressor in the fatal encounter.

In another widely reported case that gained national attention, Uduak Akpan was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of Akwa Ibom job seeker, Iniobong Umoren. Umoren, a young graduate, had gone for a job interview that turned out to be a trap. Her death sparked widespread outrage across Nigeria and led to calls for justice for victims of gender-based violence. However, there was confusion in the court as the convict attempted to escape shortly after the sentence was announced, requiring police intervention to foil the attempted escape. The case remains one of the most high-profile murder convictions in the state’s recent history.

The sentencing of the church usher in Uyo has drawn reactions from legal observers and the public, with many commending the court for its decisive action. Human rights lawyer Inihebe Effiong, commenting on similar extrajudicial killing cases, has previously called for diligent prosecution of murder suspects “not by the police, but by the Nigerian state or the attorney general… in accordance with the law.” The ruling sends a strong and unambiguous message that domestic violence and murder, regardless of the perpetrator’s standing, religious affiliation, or personal relationship with the victim, will attract the full weight of the law, including the ultimate penalty of death. As Justice Ntekim’s ruling echoes in the corridors of justice, the family of Emem Monday Effanga may find some solace knowing that her killer has been brought to account. The convict, Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson, now awaits the appeals process, as death sentences in Nigeria are automatically subject to review by higher courts, including the Court of Appeal and potentially the Supreme Court.

Court Sentences Church Usher to Death for Murdering Girlfriend Over Mobile Phone