An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Essien Udim Local Government Area has sentenced a 36-year-old mother of four, Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah, to life imprisonment for attempting to murder a 12-year-old girl.
Jonah, a hairdresser and divorcee from Ikot Obong in Afaha Clan, Essien Udim LGA, was convicted 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.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Winifred Effiong held that the prosecution proved the charge beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment, the mandatory punishment prescribed by law.
According to evidence presented before the court, the victim had accompanied her mother, a pepper trader, to the market where she was hawking fresh pepper when the defendant approached her under the guise of wanting to make a purchase.
The prosecution said Jonah told the girl that an elderly customer wanted to buy pepper but could not walk to the market. She allegedly persuaded the child to accompany her to a nearby bush, claiming the customer was close by and payment could be made there.
Testifying before the court, the victim said she initially followed the woman because she appeared respectable and was neatly dressed. However, she became suspicious when they ventured further into the bush and attempted to turn back.
The girl recounted that the defendant restrained her, tied her mouth with a piece of cloth to stop her from screaming, and attacked her with a knife.
“She brought a knife from her bag and cut my left eyebrow and the right side of my neck before running away,” the victim told the court, adding that the incident occurred in a bush near Urua Akpan Market in Essien Udim.
Jonah was arraigned on August 12, 2024. The charge was read and interpreted to her in the Annang language, and she pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses and tendered the statements of both the defendant and the victim as exhibits.
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 cultivating waterleaf in the area.
Justice Effiong rejected the defence, describing the claim as unsubstantiated because the defendant failed to provide the identity, address or any description of the alleged woman.
The court held that the victim’s testimony was corroborated by independent evidence, including the injuries she sustained, the defendant’s admission that she led the child into the bush, and the victim’s immediate identification of the defendant while receiving treatment at Saint Mary’s Hospital, Urua Akpan.
The judge ruled that the circumstances clearly demonstrated an intention 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,” the judge held.
Justice Effiong further stated that the defendant’s attempt to shift responsibility to an unidentified third party failed to create any reasonable doubt, describing the prosecution’s evidence as direct, credible and compelling.
Following the conviction, defence counsel urged the court to temper justice with mercy and grant the defendant a second chance.
However, the judge held that the court lacked the discretion to impose a lesser sentence because Section 276 of the Criminal Code prescribes life imprisonment for attempted murder.
“This court lacks the jurisdiction to reduce the sentence prescribed by law. The defendant, Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah, is hereby sentenced to confinement for life,” Justice Effiong ruled.
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