An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Essien Udim has sentenced a 36 year old woman, Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah, to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of a 12 year old girl.
Delivering judgment on June 25, Justice Winifred Effiong convicted the defendant on 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 convict, a hairdresser and divorcee from Ikot Obong in Afaha Clan, lured the victim away from Urua Akpan Market on July 20, 2023, before inflicting severe injuries on the girl’s neck and eye.
In a statement presented before the court, the victim explained that she 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 from her.
She narrated how she was deceived into following the woman into a bush path.
“I followed the lady because she put on a nice dress. Reaching the road to the bush, I told her that the road is too far that I can’t continue the movement again.
“At that juncture, the lady held me and I ran from the bush. The lady ran after me and I fell down inside the bush and the lady held my clothes and tied it on my mouth that is where I could not shout for help.
“She brought a knife from the bag and cut my left eye blow and my right side of my neck and the lady ran away. The bush is close to Urua Akpan market in Essien Udim.”
According to the victim, the defendant had claimed an elderly customer wanted to buy her pepper but could not walk to the market. She further said the woman promised payment would be made at a nearby farm where waterleaf was being cultivated, leading the child into a secluded area.
Trial and Defence
The defendant was arraigned on August 12, 2024. The charge was read and interpreted to her in Annang language, and she pleaded not guilty.
During trial, the prosecution called three witnesses and tendered both the defendant’s statement and the victim’s statement as evidence.
While testifying in her defence, Jonah admitted approaching the child and taking her into the bush but denied carrying out the attack. She claimed she handed the child over to another woman allegedly working nearby.
However, she failed to provide the identity, address, or any description of the said woman.
Court Findings
In her judgment, Justice Effiong described the defence as unconvincing and unsupported by evidence.
The court held that the prosecution successfully proved the defendant was responsible for luring the victim away from the market and into the bush.
The judge noted that several independent facts supported the victim’s testimony, including the child’s injuries, the defendant’s admission that she took the girl into the bush, and the victim’s immediate identification of the defendant while receiving treatment at Saint Mary’s Hospital.
Justice Effiong further ruled that the defendant failed to provide any credible explanation concerning the alleged third party.
Evidence of Intent
The court concluded that the circumstances clearly showed intent to kill.
“The defendant lured a vulnerable child away from the safety of a public market and 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.”
Justice Effiong held that the prosecution proved every element of the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
“The evidence of PW2 was direct, credible and substantially corroborated by surrounding circumstances. The defendant’s own admission that she took the child from the market into the bush constitutes a powerful link in the chain of evidence.
“Her attempt to shift responsibility to an unnamed and unidentifiable third party is unbelievable and incapable of creating any reasonable doubt.”
Following the conviction, defence counsel pleaded for leniency and urged the court to grant the convict a second chance.
However, the judge ruled that Section 276 of the Criminal Code prescribes life imprisonment as the mandatory sentence for attempted murder.
“This court lacks the jurisdiction to reduce the sentence prescribed by law. Based on the above, the defendant, Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah is hereby sentenced to confinement for life.”
