Family members and acquaintances of the late Barr Godwin Ikoiwak, a lawyer with the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice, are outraged over the recent judgment by a state high court in Uyo, which handed down a 10-year death sentence to those convicted for the murder of their loved one.
They lamented that maximum punishments were not meted out on the offenders, as only two and 10 years’ sentences were given to persons established by the court to have been involved in murder and accessory to murder.
The wife of the deceased, Barr Abasiesebanga Ikoiwak, a staff of the Court of Appeal Calabar, who was the 1st Defendant, alongside her mother, Mrs Margaret Patrick Umoh, (2nd Defendant), her sister, Owoidoho Patrick Umoh (3rd Defendant) and staff members of St Luke’s Hospital Anua (4th, 5th, 6th Defendants) stood trial on a five-count charge bothering on: conspiracy to murder, murder, accessory after the fact of murder, conspiracy to commit unlawful purpose and issuance of false certificate by Public Officer.
Justice Bassey Nkanang on extended jurisdiction from Mkpat Enin gave the judgement in suit number: Hu/50/2022 State vs (1) Abasieseabanga Godwin Ikoiwak (2) Margaret Patrick Umoh (3) Owoidoho Patrick Umoh (4) Dr Imoh Johnson (5) Dr Isaac Njoku, Rev Father Gabriel Ekong.
Two other defendants, Udeme Patrick Umoh and Isaiah Gideon Isaiah are still at large.
The 1,2,3 defendants were charged with (Count 1) conspiracy to murder – punishable under Section 331 of the Criminal Code, laws of Akwa Ibom State, 2000. (Count – 2); murder- punishable under Section 326(1) of the Criminal Code, cap 38, volume 2, laws of Akwa Ibom State, 2000. (Count 3); accessory after the fact of murder- punishable under section 558 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, volume 2, laws of Akwa Ibom State. 2000.
The 4, 5, 6 defendants (Dr Imo Johnson, Rev Father Gabriel Ekong and Dr Isaac Njoku), all staffers of St Luke’s hospital, were charged with two count of conspiracy to commit unlawful purpose in count 4, punishable under Section 556(1)(f) of the Criminal Code cap 38, volume 2 laws of Akwa Ibom State, 2000; (Count 5) Issuance of false certificate by Public Officer punishable under Section 109 of the Criminal Code, cap 38 volume 2, laws of Akwa Ibom State 2000.
A total of 14 witnesses were called: the Prosecution called 8 witnesses while the Defence team called 6 witnesses. 51 Exhibits were tendered, identified and admitted.
Reviewing the history of the case, evidence of witnesses, exhibits, submissions of the Prosecution and Defence in a detailed judgement, Justice Nkanang convicted 5 of the 6 defendants, while the 6th defendant – Dr Isaac Njoku was discharged and acquitted.
He read that autopsy showing that the deceased died of poisoning from ingested Organophosphate (Ota piapia in local parlance) in the house of his mother in-law (2nd Defendant) where he went on a visit. The corpse was also reported to have unexplained physical injuries on the left eye socket, neck and ankle.
He also read that from the data snalysis, the first defendant, (wife of the deceased) though was not at the scene of the incident but far away in Calabar in constant communication with the 2nd and 3rd defendants.
From the data also, one Revd. Father Maurice Mbeke was said to have called Rev Father Gabriel Ekong, the Administrator of St Luke’s hospital to ask the possibility of issuing a death certificate of someone who died outside the hospital and the latter answered in affirmative.
Thereafter, he urged the administrator to assist the 1st defendant in that regard to receive the corpse of her husband.
‘Rev. Father Ekong then instructed Dr Imoh Johnson to open a file, issue a medical report and death certificate, which falsely claimed that the deceased was admitted and treated for asthma before he died at the hospital.’
However, Justice Nkanang in his over three-hour judgement convicted the 1st Defendant, Abasieseabanga Godwin Ikoiwak, for accessory after the fact of murder and sentenced her to 2 years in confinement starting from 2022.
Both the mother-in-law of the deceased, Margaret Patrick Umoh and sister in-law, Owoidoho Patrick Umoh, were sentenced to 10 years in prison respectively for his murder. The conviction is to start running from 21st May 2022.
Dr Imoh Johnson was sentenced to 2 years in prison from 25 June 2025, while Rev. Father Gabriel Ekong was given 4 years in prison from June 25, 2025. The terms run concurrently.
”In terms of count two, the 2nd and 3rd defendants are to remain in confinement for the period of 10 years in lieu of death sentence.
“In terms of count four, the 1st, 4th, and 6th defendants are sentenced to two years in confinement. The 5th defendant is discharged and acquitted. The period of confinement of the convicted defendants will run concurrently and starting from the time of arrest. For 1st defendant, 18th day of March 2022. For second defendant Margaret Umoh starting from May 1, 2022, for Owoidoho Umo May 1, 2022. For the 4th defendant Dr Imoh Johnson, Rev Father Gabriel Ekong begin 25th of June, 2025, this is the judgement of the court,” he ruled.
In the meantime, Joseph Umoren, who led other counsel for the state, has served notice of intention to appeal the judgment on Barr Ekpenyong Ntekim, who led the defence of first to third Defendants.
Effiong Abia Esq. and Glory Kofi represented the fourth and fifth Defendants, respectively.
Speaking with newsmen after the judgement, Barr Sunny Anyanwu, who identified himself as the friend and classmate of late Ikoiwak at the University said there were a lot of loopholes in the judgement and wondered how someone established to have facilitated the murder of another would be technically set free under the guise of issuing her two years imprisonment which even started from the inception of the case in 2022.
Anyanwu, who recounted how late Barr Ikoiwak narrated his ordeal to him and spoke to him while going to his in-laws place on that fateful day, expressed dismay that despite his testimonies during the trials and the avalanche of evidence to back up his claims, the convicts were given soft landing.
He urged Ikoiwak’s family and Akwa Ibom Ministry of Justice to take the case further to Appellate court.
His words, ”I carefully listened to the judgement, all I can say is that I’m not happy, I’m speaking on behalf of the family, we are not happy, that’s not a fair judgement at all.
“The court misdirected itself in many issues. Rev Father Mbeke is a reverend father who preaches every Sunday for people to go to heaven while he is the architect of all the whole murder with that of the wife of my friend, but father Mbeke is out of the scene.
“I wonder why he has not been arrested, why he has not visited the trial till today and look at the judgement that was given, was that fair?
”Godwin Ikoiwak’s soul will never rest in peace, it will continue to roam until it gets justice. I am so disappointed. I flew all the way from Abuja to Uyo to hear this judgement but I’m so disappointed.
“I wouldn’t have wasted my flight ticket, if I had had the premonition that it would be this way, I wouldn’t have come.
“The father of the deceased just died November last year out of heartbreak, I am sure he is not happy wherever he is. I was the last person Godwin spoke with when he was going to the in-law’s family house that day. And I went to court to testify, with all the evidence we brought.
“I plead with the attorney general of Akwa Ibom to go on appeal, at least they should be given maximum punishment, this is not maximum punishment, she was just given just two years, someone who coordinated the whole thing.
“The judgement says starting from when she was arrested, in other words, she is free.
“Even when she made a confessional statement in DSS that she did this and she did that. So what happened and the court did not take them into consideration?
“I pray one day the appropriate court will give justice. We will go on appeal, if you leave this kind of judgement, other judges may follow and it may form a precedence. I saw all the flaws in the judgement, I am a lawyer.
“Two persons in connection to Godwin’s murder are at large, why have they not been found, I don’t know.
“Secondly, the law does not look at age when you commit an offense; even if the woman is 100 years old, she has committed an offense and she needs to pay for it; that means when people are old they should start killing people and should be allowed to go free because of age? This was just a miscarriage of justice and I’m not happy.”
On his part, Effiong Abia, counsel to Dr Johnson appreciated the judge’s industry but revealed intentions to appeal the case.
He said, ”there are certain issues we need to test upstairs, of course the judge has already said we have the right to do so.
“In any case, you see six defendants, 51 exhibits, imagine the length of time it took him to deliver that judgement.
“Laws thrive on a principle and this principle seems not to be well applied or applied at all. We will go for an appeal.”
Ikoiwak was said to have been murdered in cold blood during his visit to his in-law’s place.
Trouble started when he allegedly started suspecting his wife of infidelity and questioned the paternity of their children.
He was said to have gone to meet his mother and sister in-laws at Ikono Local Government on the issue but never returned alive.
The wife, who later arrived from Calabar, called her late husband’s family to tell them that their son drove himself to St Luke’s hospital for treatment but died due to asthma attack and blockage of respiratory tract.
She was said to have gone ahead to obtain a death certificate from the hospital with claims that the husband died of asthma.
The deceased’s family, however, on close examination of the corpse, identified bruises on the scalp, left eye socket and ankle.
They refused to buy-in to the rhetoric of the wife and had to drag her to court where it was established through autopsy that Ikoiwak died from ingestion of a poisonous substance after a violent attack.
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