An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced 29-year-old Akaninyene Thomas Okpon to death by hanging for the murder of his elder brother, Friday Thomas Enyenokpon.
The incident occurred on April 8, 2018, in Ikot Abasi Asutan, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area. Akaninyene, along with his late brother Ime Thomas Okpon, ambushed and killed their sibling, accusing him of witchcraft and blaming him for their misfortunes.
The court heard that the brothers attacked the victim in a bush known locally as “Usung Atan,” where he had gone to check his hunting traps. They killed him with machetes, beheaded him, and buried the head separately—an act that deeply shocked the local community.
Ime Okpon, co-accused in the case, died in custody before the trial concluded.
Delivering judgment in case number HU/5C/2019, Justice Okon Okon ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. The verdict was based on the defendant’s confessional statement and supporting evidence.
The court noted that Akaninyene, a primary school dropout and father of three, had previously threatened to kill his brother and other family members. He later led police to the crime scene, where the body was recovered.
Justice Okon declared, “The sentence of the Court upon you, Akaninyene Thomas Okpon, is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead.”
The court also ordered that the murder weapons—two machetes used in the attack and marked as Exhibits 1–1A—be forfeited to the state.
The case has drawn public attention in Akwa Ibom, highlighting the dangers of superstition-fueled violence within families.
