Court Sends Mother of Four to Life Jail Over Attack on 12-Year-Old Girl

The Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Essien Udim has sentenced a 36-year-old mother of four, Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah, to life imprisonment for attempting to murder a 12-year-old girl after luring her from a local market into a nearby bush.

Justice Winifred Effiong delivered the judgment on Thursday, ruling that the prosecution successfully proved the charge of attempted murder beyond reasonable doubt.
The court heard that the young victim had accompanied her mother, a pepper trader, to the market where she was helping to sell fresh pepper. The convict allegedly approached the girl, pretending to be a customer, and claimed an elderly buyer who could not come to the market wanted to purchase pepper.
According to the victim, the woman persuaded her to follow her into a nearby bush where the supposed customer was waiting to make payment.
Narrating her ordeal before the court, the child said she agreed to follow the woman because she appeared well dressed. However, as they approached the bush, she became uncomfortable and attempted to turn back.
She testified that the woman chased her, caught her after she fell, tied her clothing around her mouth to stop her from shouting, brought out a knife from her bag, and inflicted injuries on her left eyebrow and the right side of her neck before fleeing the scene. She added that the bush was located close to Urua Akpan Market in Essien Udim.
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 she alleged was working on a nearby farm.
The court rejected the explanation, noting that the defendant failed to provide any information that could identify or verify the existence of the alleged woman.
Justice Effiong held that the victim’s testimony was supported by the injuries she sustained, the defendant’s admission that she took the child into the bush, and the victim’s immediate identification of the accused while receiving treatment at Saint Mary’s Hospital, Urua Akpan.
The judge ruled that luring a vulnerable child away from the safety of a public market into a secluded bush, coupled with the severe injuries inflicted on her neck and eye, clearly established the intention to kill.
“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 victim’s evidence was direct, credible, and strongly corroborated by surrounding circumstances, including the defendant’s own admission that she led the child into the bush. The court also dismissed the attempt to shift responsibility to an unnamed third party as unbelievable.
After the defence counsel pleaded for leniency, the judge ruled that Section 276 of the Criminal Code of Akwa Ibom State prescribes life imprisonment for attempted murder.
The court therefore sentenced Uwakmfon Isaac Jonah to life imprisonment, holding that it lacked the jurisdiction to impose a lesser punishment than that prescribed by law.