A Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Mirable Centre, on Thursday commended the ruling on the killer of a job seeker, Ini Umoren.

The Mirabel Centre Manager, Mrs Juliet Olumuyiwa-Rufai, in a post on the Centre’s Twitter handle monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the sentence would deter others who may want to involve in such activities.

“Today, Uduk Akpan was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Ini Umoren.

“Ini, a young Nigerian woman had her life ahead of her and this was cut short by Akpan.

“The victims of rape deserve justice and we hope this serves as a deterrent.

“Rape is a heinous crime which must not be allowed to fester in this society.”

She says that the foundation commends the ruling of the court and hopes that all pending cases of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) are expedited.

“We also note that it has been over two years since Uwa Omozuwa’s rape which led to her death.

“We call on the authorities in Edo State to bring justice to Uwa’s family.

“We are similarly aware of the case of Barakat Bello who was raped and murdered in Oyo State.

“We call on the authorities there to bring justice to Barakat’s family.

She appreciated all those who fought for Umoren to get justice.

The Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo on Thursday sentenced Uduak Frank Akpan, the first accused in the murder of Iniubong Umoren to die by hanging.

In the over two hours of judgement by the presiding Judge, Bassey Nkanang, the convict was found guilty of rape and murder and sentenced to be hung on the neck till he dies.

Miss Umoren, 26, went missing on April 29, 2021, after she was lured out of her home in Uyo with a fake job interview by Uduak Akpan.

The victim, a fresh Philosophy graduate of the University of Uyo was raped, killed and buried in a shallow grave by Akpan.

The Mirabel Centre is Nigeria’s first Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) with a mandate to provide holistic medical and psychosocial support to survivors of rape and sexual violence.

It is located inside the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja.

Asides from free forensic medical examination and providing psychosocial support to survivors, the Mirabel Centre helps survivors get access to other support services they need.

The Centre works closely with the police and provides medical reports which the police use for further investigation and prosecution of rape cases.