Uyo Church usher murder sentencing sees Ndifreke Nelson jailed to death for killing girlfriend Emem Effanga and stealing her phone in Uyo court ruling

In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, on Friday, May 22, 2026, Justice Ekpo Ntekim of the State High Court sentenced church usher Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson to death by hanging or lethal injection after finding him guilty of the murder of Emem Monday Effanga, a case that has left the community in shock.

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Justice Ekpo Ntekim convicted Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson, a 33-year-old church usher based in Uyo, after the court established that he fatally attacked Emem Monday Effanga at her residence before stealing her mobile phone. The ruling followed a two-count charge of murder and stealing, with the court holding that the punishment for stealing was subsumed under the sentence for murder.

The court heard that the incident occurred on February 6, 2026, when Nelson visited Effanga at her home on Aka Road in Uyo under the pretext of using her phone to post birthday photographs on social media. It was his birthday that same day.

Prosecutors told the court that the situation escalated into a violent confrontation after Nelson attempted to take the phone, resulting in a struggle. In a brutal turn of events, he allegedly slammed Effanga’s head against a wall and strangled her to death.

Eyewitness accounts presented during the trial indicated that Nelson carefully arranged the victim’s body on her bed before fleeing the scene with her phone, an act described in court as chilling and deliberate.

Nelson was later tracked and arrested on February 8, 2026, while attending a church night programme along Nsikak Eduok Avenue in Uyo at about 2am. His arrest inside a place of worship added a dramatic and unsettling dimension to the case.

During interrogation, the convict reportedly confessed to the crime, a key factor that strengthened the prosecution’s case and contributed to the final judgment.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Ekpo Ntekim stated that the law prescribed the ultimate penalty for the offence, concluding that the accused had been properly found guilty on all counts.

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The judgement marks the end of a harrowing case that has gripped public attention in Uyo, with many expressing concern over the tragic circumstances surrounding the killing of Emem Monday Effanga and the actions of Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson.