Akwa Ibom Court Sentences Mother of Four to Life Imprisonment for Attempted Murder of 12-Year-Old Girl

An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Essien Udim Local Government Area has sentenced a 36-year-old woman, Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah, to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of a 12-year-old girl.

Justice Winifred Effiong delivered the judgment on Thursday, June 25, after finding the hairdresser and mother of four guilty of a one-count charge of attempted murder, contrary to Section 276 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38 Vol. 2, Laws of Akwa Ibom State, 2022.

The prosecution told the court that the victim had accompanied her mother, a pepper trader, to the market and was hawking fresh pepper when the defendant approached her under the guise of buying the produce.

According to the victim's testimony, the woman persuaded her to follow her into a nearby bush, claiming that an elderly customer wanted to buy the pepper but could not walk to the market. She also allegedly told the girl that her mother was harvesting waterleaf nearby and could help pay for the pepper.

The girl said she became suspicious after they entered the secluded area and attempted to return to the market, but the defendant allegedly restrained her, tied a piece of cloth around her mouth to prevent her from screaming, and attacked her with a knife.

The victim told the court that she sustained injuries to her eyebrow and a deep cut to her neck before the defendant fled the scene.

Jonah, who was arraigned on August 12, 2024, pleaded not guilty after the charge was interpreted to her in the Annang language.

During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses and tendered the statements of both the victim and the defendant as evidence.

While testifying in her defence, Jonah admitted taking the child from the market into the bush but denied attacking her. She claimed she handed the girl over to another woman who was allegedly cultivating waterleaf in the area.

Justice Effiong rejected the defence, holding that the defendant failed to provide the identity, address, or any description of the alleged woman, making the claim unsubstantiated and unbelievable.

The court ruled that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Jonah lured the child into the bush and that the victim's testimony was corroborated by independent evidence, including the injuries she sustained, the defendant's admission that she took the child into the bush, and the victim's immediate identification of the defendant while receiving treatment at Saint Mary's Hospital in Urua Akpan.

Justice Effiong further held that the nature of the injuries clearly demonstrated an intention to kill.

"The defendant lured a vulnerable child away from the safety of a public market into a secluded bush. The child sustained a deep cut to the neck and injuries to the eye. The neck is one of the most vital and vulnerable parts of the human body. A person who deliberately inflicts a deep cut on the neck of a helpless child must be presumed to intend the natural and probable consequences of such an act. The fact that the child survived does not negate the intention," the judge held.

Although defence counsel appealed for mercy following the conviction, the court ruled that Section 276 of the Criminal Code prescribes a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for attempted murder.

"This court lacks the jurisdiction to reduce the sentence prescribed by law. Accordingly, the defendant, Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah, is hereby sentenced to confinement for life," Justice Effiong ruled.