Court Sentences Self-Proclaimed Winners Chapel Pastor to Death for Murder of University of Uyo Student

ByEditor

Feb 19, 2026 #Akwa Ibom High Court judgement, #death sentence Nigeria, #Gabriel Bassey Edward, #Justice Gabriel Ette, #Prince Emmanuel, #University of Uyo student murder, #Uyo murder case, #Winners Chapel pastor sentenced to death

Matilda Omonaiye/

The High Court of Akwa Ibom State has sentenced a self-proclaimed pastor of Living Faith Church Worldwide, widely known as Winners Chapel, to death for the murder of a student of the University of Uyo.

Delivering judgement on Thursday, Justice Gabriel Ette found Prince Emmanuel guilty of murdering Gabriel Bassey Edward, a final-year engineering student who was killed in December 2020 in Uyo.

The court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, relying on witness testimonies and evidence gathered during police investigations.

According to evidence presented during the trial, the deceased had rented part of his residence in Ikot Okpon, Uyo, to the defendant, who used the space as a church parish.

Witnesses told the court they heard distressing screams from the premises on the day of the incident.

Some neighbours testified that they saw the defendant fetching water with buckets allegedly stained with blood.

When questioned at the time, he reportedly claimed he had been praying.

Investigators later searched the defendant’s residence and recovered items said to belong to the deceased.

The prosecution argued that the defendant was the last person seen with Gabriel and that the totality of the evidence linked him directly to the killing.

In his ruling, Justice Ette held that the circumstantial evidence was compelling and consistent, and that it pointed irresistibly to the guilt of the accused.

He consequently sentenced Prince Emmanuel to death by hanging, in line with the penalty prescribed for murder under Nigerian law.

The case, which began shortly after the 2020 killing, attracted sustained public attention in Akwa Ibom State, particularly within the University of Uyo community.

Family members of the deceased were present in court for the judgement. The prosecution was led by counsel from the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice.

Under Nigerian law, a convict has the right to appeal against both conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal.