Uduak Umoh, the slain Akwa Ibom job seeker Iniubong Umoren’s best friend, and the deceased elder sister, Ifiok Umoren, have testified in the ongoing trial of the accused killer Uduak Akpan.
Akpan, a 20-year-old undergraduate, is on trial with his father, Frank Akpan, and older sister, Anwan Bassey Akpan, for the grisly murder of Iniubong, whom he allegedly enticed, raped, and killed while pretending to offer her a job.
Umoh testified before Justice Bassey Nkanang of the state High Court that her late friend had told her on April 29, 2021, that she was heading to Uruan Local Government Area for a job interview, but that she did not have transportation fare.
She stated that she sent N2,000 as fare to the alleged interview location and that she encouraged her friend to send the name and phone number of the person she was going to see on her phone’s Google map, which she did.
The witness informed the court that she was communicating with her friend even at the time she arrived at the venue but was shocked when her friend suddenly sent a voice note to her screaming and the call ended abruptly.
She further informed the court that at that point she became agitated and began to call her friend’s line but it was not answered noting that she quickly made a post on social media tagging the face of Uduak Akpan, the accused, whose picture she got from Facebook.
Umoh disclosed that as soon as she made the post, that one Miriam Akpan made a comment that she was a victim of a scam job interview offered by the accused, Uduak Akpan. She said Miriam accused Akpan of raping her, taking her nude pictures, and seizing her android phone with the help of his sister who is the third accused in the case.
After giving her evidence, she was crossed examined and thereafter, the fourth prosecution witness and elder sister of the deceased, Ifiok Umoren in her own evidence, corroborated the testimony of the third prosecution witness.
Ifiok told the court that when she got the information, she made an official report to Uruan Divisional Police headquarters but was told to come back after 48 hours if they did not return home.
She said at the expiration of the 48 hours, on 1st May 2021, she went to the Anti Kidnapping Unit of Akwa Ibom State Police Command’s Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, she was told that Uduak Frank Akpan has confessed that he killed Iniubong Umoren and buried her in a shallow grave in his residence, Uruan.
The trial judge, before adjourning the matter, charged lawyers to advocate for the review of 48 hours rule on the police investigation of missing persons, as such could save lives of missing people who are in danger.
The court also admitted in evidence, the photograph of the exhumed body of Iniubong Umoren as an exhibit, and the case was adjourned till Thursday (tomorrow) to take the evidence of the pathologist.
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