A dismissed Nigerian Army soldier, Lance Corporal Promise Okokon Usoro, and his accomplice, Odinaka Emmanuel Victor, were sentenced to death by hanging for armed robbery by the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo on July 24, 2025. Justice Archibong Archibong delivered the verdict, finding the duo guilty of robbing tricycle operators at gunpoint in separate incidents in 2013, as reported by Independent Newspaper Nigeria. Usoro, 41, from Ikot Osom in Abak, confessed to participating in at least three armed robberies targeting tricyclists in Uyo, while Victor, 32, from Osisioma, Abia State, admitted to robbing a victim along Ikot Ekpene Road with an AK-47 rifle alongside Usoro.
The court heard that Usoro, dismissed from the army after a court-martial for prior criminal activity, and Victor robbed Peter Daniel Okon of his tricycle on February 10, 2013, along Idoro Road, Uyo, and another victim, Anyanwu Chidi Francis, four days later. Justice Archibong ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, though a third defendant, Ndifreke Udo, was acquitted for lack of evidence. The sentencing has sparked discussions on X about the severity of the punishment and the challenges of crime in Nigeria, with the case highlighting the judiciary’s firm stance on armed robbery and the risks faced by tricycle operators in urban centers.
