A High Court sitting in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a tricycle ticket seller, Iboro Sunday Akpan, to death by hanging for armed robbery.
Akpan also was sentenced to life in prison for attempted murder.
Justice Augustine D. Odokwo, in his judgement in Charge No. HT/25C/2025, found that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and convicted the defendant on all the three counts.
Akpan was later sentenced by the court to 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy, life imprisonment for attempted murder and death by hanging for armed robbery, with the custodial sentences subsumed by the capital punishment.
Akpan, who is from Ikot Idaha in Ikono Local Government Area, was charged by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice for an armed robbery attack that took place in the early hours of July 23, 2025 at Annex B Estate, Ikot Otor in Ikot Ekpene.
The star witness for the prosecution, Barr. Camillus Ben, testified at the trial that at about 1:23 am, he was awakened by a loud bang at the estate gate where he met an intruder who was not masked and identified as Akpan, a ticket seller whom he had known for years on Umuahia Road in Ikot Ekpene.
The witness said he recognized the convict from about four feet away before the man fled the scene.
He was later shot in the ribs and hand by armed robbers who opened fire as police responded to a distress call.
The prosecution also called a police officer attached to the Divisional Crack Team who told the court that the police recovered firearms and expended cartridges at the scene after an exchange of gunfire with the robbers.
In the operation, one suspect was killed while another escaped with gunshot wounds but was later traced to Imo State.
The victim’s wife who was over eight months pregnant at the time of the attack told the court that armed robbers stormed their residence, carted away cash and jewellery worth N630,000 and tried to compel her to transfer money through Point-of-Sale, POS, machine.
In his defence Akpan denied involvement in the robbery, saying he was a farmer and ticket seller and was not at the scene.
However, the defence was dismissed by Justice Odokwo who held that the evidence was a case of recognition and not mistaken identity as the victim knew the defendant before the incident.
The judge also rejected the defendant’s alibi because it did not have specific, verifiable details and was contradicted by the evidence of the defence witness.
The judge said the prosecution had a watertight and unshakeable case against the defendant.
Justice Odokwo also held that Akpan was criminally liable for the shooting of the victim during the robbery under the doctrine of common intention even though there was evidence that the shot was fired by another gang member.
In his obiter dictum, the judge said the attack was a violent criminal enterprise, which nearly claimed the life of the victim, and emphasised the punishment provided for armed robbery under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act was mandatory.
This court sentences you Iboro Sunday Akpan to be hanged by the neck until you be dead. “May the Almighty God have mercy upon your soul,” Justice Odokwo said.
The court also ordered that the firearms and ammunition tendered as exhibits be returned to Akwa Ibom State Police Command for official destruction. All exhibits are to remain in court custody pending any appeal.