Olotu Olajide V. The State (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

PAUL OBI ELECHI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal from the judgment of the Ekiti State High Court, sitting at Ado Ekiti and delivered by Hon. Justice O.I.O. Ogunyemi on the 20th day of March, 2014 convicting and sentencing the Appellant to death for the offence of armed Robbery.

Upon being dissatisfied with the said judgment, the Appellant has now filed an appeal to this Court challenging the said judgment.

The brief facts leading to this case is that the Appellant was arraigned before the lower Court for the offence of armed robbery. The PW1 evidence at the lower Court was to the effect that on the 6th day of October 2012, a gang of armed robbers including the Appellant while armed with guns invaded the house of one Olowojebutu Sola at covenant Avenue, Ajebamidele, Ikere Road, Ado Ekiti and dispossessed him and his household their belongings including Money, blackberry handset, Nokia handset, jewelries and other valuables.

The armed Robbers gained entry when they cut the sitting room burglary-proof. After the robbery operation, the victims were locked inside by the bandits until the alerted the police that came and

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forced open the door open.

In the course of another armed robbery operation with his partners in crime, the appellant was arrested where upon the confessed during police investigation that he was part of the armed robbery operation in the house of Olowojebutu Sola on the 6th October, 2012. The said confession was both oral and written.

Subsequently, the appellant was arraigned in Court on the 18th June 2013 for Armed Robbery Contrary to 1(2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act Cap R II Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. The learned trial judge after considering the case found the offence of armed robbery proved beyond reasonable doubt and thereby convicted and sentenced him accordingly. The Appellant being dissatisfied with the said judgment has now appealed to this Court. To argue this appeal, the Appellant distilled two issues for determination viz.

(i) Whether or not the High Court was right to convicted the Appellant having regard to the weight of evidence adduced during trial.

(ii) Whether or not the High Court was right to have convicted and sentenced the Appellant to death by relying heavily on his

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confessional statement despite that the same Court earlier on ruled that the statement was obtained under duress.

On his own part, the Respondent distilled a sole issue for determination thus: