Dismissed Soldier, Accomplice Sentenced to Death by Hanging for Armed Robbery in Akwa Ibom

A High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a dismissed soldier, Lance Corporal Promise Okokon Usoro, and his accomplice, Odinaka Emmanuel Victor, to death by hanging for armed robbery. The judgment, delivered on Wednesday, July 24, by Justice Archibong Archibong, followed the conviction of the two men for multiple armed robbery operations involving the use of AK-47 rifles to rob tricycle operators in Uyo. Lance Corporal Usoro, 41, a native of Ikot Osom in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, was attached to the 6 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Abak before his dismissal. He was court-martialed and later handed over to the police after being linked to several armed robbery operations. During the trial, he confessed to robbing three different tricycle operators and admitted selling one of the stolen tricycles alongside an accomplice identified only as “JJ,” who is still at large. His co-defendant, Odinaka Emmanuel Victor, 32, from Osisioma in Abia State, was convicted for robbing a tricycle operator, Anyanwu Chidi Francis, on February 14, 2013, using an AK-47 rifle in the company of Usoro. He also admitted being part of a tricycle-snatching syndicate based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, coordinated by a man known as “Engineer Obuigwe.” A third accused, Ndifreke Willie Udo, 37, from Essien Udim Local Government Area, was discharged and acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence linking him to the crimes. Justice Archibong said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and stressed that the offences committed were grave and dangerous to society. He ruled that the convicts acted with reckless disregard for human life and caused serious economic and emotional damage to their victims. The court sentenced both Usoro and Victor to death by hanging, in accordance with the laws governing armed robbery in Nigeria