Aaron Akpan V. The State (1972)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

SIR I. LEWIS, J.S.C 

On the 5th of November, 1971, Aaron Akpan was convicted by Ete J. In the High Court, Uyo in Charge No. HU/7C/71 of the murder of Grace Aaron (his wife) on the 22nd of June, 1970 at Ikot Akpan Eteduo, Opobo and sentenced to death. On the 22nd of March, 1972 we dismissed his appeal therefrom and now give our reasons for so doing.

There was only one eye witness to the killing and that was the 3rd P.W., the 10 year old son of the deceased and the accused, who, after the learned trial Judge had examined him and was satisfied that he understood the nature of an oath, was duly sworn and said in his evidence that on Sunday, the 21st of June, 1970, he returned home at about 6 p.m. and found his mother, the deceased, and his father, the accused, quarreling and his evidence as to what took place thereafter was:

“I saw my father throw native juju called “Mbiam” on my mother. After this mother gave him food and he ate it. Then my father went to his own apartment, but came out later and dragged my mother from her own room to his own. This was about 8 p.m. I myself was in my mother’s room, I did not follow them to his room. Also in my mother’s room with me were my junior sister Akon Aaron, my junior brother Udo Aaron and my third sister Nwahwa Aaron who was a baby. At about 5 a.m. I was awakened by the shouts of my mother emanating from my father’s room. I ran to the place and when I got there I saw my father matcheting my mother. I saw the matchet he used. (Witness identifies Identification 1 as the matchet the accused used.) I raised an alarm and P.W.2 came. When I raised alarm my father ran out of the house towards the road. When he ran out of the house towards the road. My father left the matchet on the floor some distance away from where my mother lay, also on the floor. My mother was dead by the time he ran away. The door of my father’s room was open when I got there. There was a lantern in the room but the room was not dark.”

The 2nd P.W., a half brother of the accused, gave evidence that a few days before the 21st of June, 1970, the accused had quarrelled with his wife because he thought she had committed adultery with one Ben Timothy and he went on to say in his evidence as to that matter:

“The woman said the Accused had accused her of committing adultery with Timothy and that she had denied. She said she was prepared to take the oath to clear herself. I sent for Ben Timothy. The accused himself was present. When Ben came I told him that the accused had accused him of adultery with his wife. The Accused himself told Ben that his wife herself confessed this to him. The wife replied that the Accused had threatened to kill her and tried to force her to admit. She said then that she wanted to be given the oath to clear herself. Ben told the Accused that he did not in fact commit adultery with his wife, and wanted to know from him what he should do to assure him that he did not in fact commit the adultery. The accused did nothing, so Ben went and brought a Police Officer to arrest the Accused and took him to Ibesit Police Station. Ben told the Police at Ibesit that he wanted the Accused to give him the oath, but the Police referred the matter to the elders in our village who would provide the oath. The two Chiefs – Akpan Akpan Ife-enyin and Amos Udo Udo Idem, Grace’s relation, Akpan Unwa Unwa, assembled and in their presence the accused provided a native oath for Ben to swear on. Ben did so, and Grace also took the oath. I was present.”

He then said that on Sunday, the 21st of June, 1970 at about 5.30 a.m. He heard the 3rd P. W. shouting from the accused’s house and on going there he saw the deceased dead on the floor with:

“A deep cut across her face beneath the nose, which almost divided her head into two and several other injuries on her body. There was a lantern in the room with the light lowered down. By the woman’s head I saw a matchet lying dripping with blood.”

He went in pursuit of the accused but the accused saw him and ran off into the bush but later when the 2nd P.W. went to report at the Police station he found the accused there shouting that someone had gone into his house and killed his wife.

The accused was later arrested and he made a statement (Exhibit “C”) in which he said:

“On Sunday 21/6/70 at about 2 p.m. in the afternoon, I went to the place of function somebody died in our village. When I arrived there, I have taken palmwine and illicit too much. The wine I drank worried me too much due to how I did not eat anything since day break. As the wine had worried me too much, I have struggle and carried myself back to my house. When I reached my house, I saw the unknown person broke into my room. As the person had removed the padlock and entered, I then called my wife and asked the person who had done that. Later my wife told that she did it. I then asked her the reason why she break into my house, she replied me that she wanted to enter into the house and packed her own thing and go away. I told my wife that it is night, that she should give me food to eat for I am very hungry. My wife on hearing this from me said that I should leave her. I then put my hand into her dress, held and draw her. My wife pushed me I fell down on the ground. I was very annoyed. I looked into the corner of my house, I saw something like stick, I took it and started to beat her without knowing that it is matchet I was using. The matchet gave her wound on her head. Then she started to shout. When my son heard the voice of his mother, he came into the room. My son then told me then his mother is dying I later came and reported myself to Police at Ibesit that I am the person who killed my wife. If I see that matchet I used, I can also identify it to Police.”

The accused, according to the 6th P.W., the Assistant Superintendent of Police in charge of Opobo division, confirmed that statement before him on the 24th of June, 1970.

The 1st P.W.7, the medical officer at the General Hospital at Opobo conducted a post-mortem examination on the deceased on the 23rd of June, 1970, and found that she died about a day before and had:

“(a) A severely mutilated left arm, the bone and flesh from elbow downward were in pieces and only held by strings of flesh;