Aribigbola Awosika V. The State (2018)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

AMIRU SANUSI, J.S.C.

This appeal emanates from the Judgment of the Ibadan division of the Court of Appeal (the lower or Court below for short) delivered on 10th day of March 2010 which partially affirmed the Judgment of High Court of Justice, Ogun State sitting at Ijebu-Ode (coram M. A. Ojo, J) (the trial Court) delivered on 18th January 2007.

The appellant who was the 1st accused, and one other co-accused (2nd accused) were arraigned before the trial Court on four count charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery contrary to Section 1(2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap 318, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 (as amended by the Tribunals Certain Consequential Amendments etc) Act 1999, and various armed robberies, contrary to Section 1(2)(a) of Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap 390 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 (as amended). Both the appellant and the other co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charge, when same were read and explained to them.

The facts giving rise to this appeal are that the appellant, his co-accused, one

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Tajudeen Adisa and one other person at large were alleged to have, while being armed with offensive weapons, raided the house of Mrs Yemi Fowosere and during the robbery attack, her personal effects which included her handsets, wristwatches and some money were stolen after breaking the doors of the house. They were also alleged to have robbed PW2 and PW3 who also reside in the said compound of some money and properties in their respective rooms. The prosecution stated that a day after the robbery incidence, the appellant left Ijebu-Ode for Lagos with the co-accused. However, on their way they ran into a check-point mounted by men of OPC who arrested the appellant and handed him over to the Police. The appellant later led the police to Lagos where his co-accused Taludeen Adisa, was also arrested. The appellant during investigation volunteered a confessional statement at the State CID Abeokuta, which was tendered at the. trial without objection by the defence. During the trial, the prosecution in proof of its case, called four witnesses to testify while the appellant testified for his defence without calling any witness. After concluding the trial, the

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trial Court found the appellant guilty of all the charges, convicted him and sentenced him to death. Aggrieved by the decision of the trial Court, the appellant appealed to the Lower Court. After hearing the appeal, the Court below commuted the death sentence passed on the appellant by the trial Court to 21 years imprisonment.

Still dissatisfied with the Judgment of the Court below, the appellant further appealed to this Court. Briefs of argument were, in keeping with the practice and procedure obtained in this Court, filed and exchanged by parties. The appellant’s brief of argument settled by one Ayodeji Omotoso Esq was filed on 18/9/2014 but deemed filed on 15/3/2017. In the said brief of argument, three issues were proposed for the determination of the appeal which were encapsuled from the four grounds of appeal contained in the Notice and Grounds of Appeal, containing four grounds of appeal dated 8th of April 2010. The three issues raised by the appellant’s learned counsel for the determination of this appeal are set out hereunder.

i. Whether the confessional statement tendered by the prosecution (Exhibit A), having been retracted by the Appellant

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at trial, was properly evaluated and relied upon by the Court of Appeal such as to correctly ground a conviction of the Appellant for the offences of Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and Robbery, and the consequent sentence of 21 (twenty-one years) imprisonment under Section 1(1) of the Robbery and Firearms Act (Distilled From Ground 1 of the Notice of Appeal)

ii. Whether the testimonies of PW1, PW2 and PW3 identifying the Appellant as one of the perpetrators of the crimes allegedly committed against them, were spontaneous, extemporaneous, unrehearsed and reliable such as to justify the reliance on same to convict the Appellant for the crimes of Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery and Armed Robbery under Section 5(b) and 1(2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms Act or Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and Robbery under the same law (Distilled from Ground 3 of the Notice of Appeal.

iii. Whether the Court of Appeal was right when, although it set aside the conviction, by the Trial Court, of the Appellant for the offences of Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery and Armed Robbery and thereupon, quashed the sentence of death passed by the said Court; yet it found the