Uzoma Okereke V. The State (2016)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

OLUKAYODE ARIWOOLA, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the decision of Owerri Division of the Court of Appeal, delivered on the 11th day of July, 2012 Coram: Abba Aji, Owoade and Tsammani, JJCA.

The appellant and two others had been arraigned on a two count charge of conspiracy to murder and murder of one Cecilia Ogbonna. They were tried, found guilty and convicted by the High Court of Imo State sitting at Owerri. The three of them were sentenced to death pursuant to Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code applicable to the State.

The fact of the case goes thus-

The deceased Mrs Cecilia Ogbonna lived within the same neighbourhood with the appellant’s mother Mrs. Ifeoma Okereke. A common wall separated the houses of both women as they were both married into the same family. During her life time, there had been an unresolved dispute between the deceased and appellants mother. The latter had accused the deceased of having killed her sons dog and threatened that the deceased would die just the way the dog had died. PW1 is one Grace Igwe, a trader who was married into the same family with the deceased. She testified that as she

was returning from the market one day, she heard the deceased shouting that her electric wire had been tampered with and as she got closer to the house she saw the appellant and his mother, Ifeoma, who told the appellant to use a stick to break the head of the deceased. In the early hours of the 29th day of November, 2005, she had gone to the deceased’s house. As she opened the door she saw the deceased in the pool of her blood with multiple injuries and was told by the deceased that the injuries were inflicted on her by the appellant and others. The injury led to her death later in the hospital.

In defence, the appellant denied ever inflicting any injury on the deceased but stated that there had been an armed robbery incident and that the said injuries on the deceased must have been inflicted by the armed robbers, who had attacked the neighbours.

At the close of the trial, the Judge believed the story of the prosecution and disbelieved the defence. And in his considered judgment delivered on the 31st day of March, 2009 the trial Court convicted and sentenced the appellant and the co-accused to death by hanging.

The appellant and others were dissatisfied with the

decision, hence they appealed to the Court below. The appeal was found to be lacking in merit and was dismissed. The conviction and sentence by the trial Court were affirmed in the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on the 11th July, 2012.

Further dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal led to the instant appeal by the appellant with a Notice of Appeal filed on 31st July, 2012.

Upon settlement of records, briefs of argument were filed and exchanged by counsel.

When the appeal came up for hearing on the 29th October, 2015, the learned appellant’s Counsel adopted and relied on his brief of argument settled by Alozie, Esq. and urged the Court to allow the appeal and discharge the appellant. In the same vein, learned counsel to the respondent adopted and relied on the respondents brief of argument settled by Mrs. C.C. Dimkpa of the Ministry of Justice, Owerri, Imo State. She urged the Court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit and substance.

In the appellants brief of argument filed on the 5th of August, 2013, the appellant distilled a sole issue for determination from his two grounds of appeal as follows: