Ofoneme Enukora V. Federal Republic Of Nigeria (2018)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MUSA DATTIJO MUHAMMAD, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting at Awka delivered on 13th May 2015 convicting and sentencing the appellant in respect of charge No. FHC/AWK/14C/2015. The appellant was prosecuted for the offence of obtaining money by false pretences. In addition to the seven years imprisonment without an option of fine, the trial Court ordered the appellant to refund the sum of four and a half million naira (N4, 500,000.00k) he falsely obtained to his victim. The facts on which the appeal hinges are briefly narrated at once.

The appellant and one other person were charged for conspiracy and obtaining the sum of N4,500,000.00k by false pretences contrary to Section 8 (A) and (1) A of the Advance Fee fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006 punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same statute. The appellant was convicted on the 2nd count only.

The prosecutor’s case is that DW5, the 2nd accused at the trial Court, approached PW4, the complainant, informing him that the appellant had a plot for sale at a price of four million five hundred

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naira. Desirous of purchasing the piece of land, PW4 instructed PW1, his personal assistant, to pay for the same on establishing the genuineness of title to and being satisfied that the land was free from any encumbrances. On being assured by DW5, PW4 instructed PW1 to pay the agreed purchase price of the sum of four million five hundred thousand naira to the appellant and a purchase agreement was subsequently executed.

PW4 moved unto the acquired land intending to commence construction thereon. His workmen were however chased away by the family of one Mr. Onuorah who had died in 1996 whose family asserted ownership of the land. Mr. Onuorah’s wife claimed she had inherited the land from her husband on the latters demise. All efforts by PW4 to get the appellant refund his money having failed, he petitioned the EFCC. The appellant and DW5 were then arrested and charged jointly for conspiracy and obtaining by false pretences.

Whereas DW5 was discharged and acquitted for both offences, the appellant on the other hand was convicted on the 2nd count for obtaining by false pretences and sentenced to seven years imprisonment without option

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of fine. Appellant was further ordered to refund the four and a half million naira he obtained from PW4.

Aggrieved, the appellant filed his notice of appeal against the trial Court’s judgment on 26th May 2015 to the Court of Appeal. The appeal was found unmeritorious and dismissed by the Court, hereinafter referred to as the lower Court. He has further appealed to this Court vide a notice dated the 25th but filed on the 27th of February, 2017 containing two grounds. Under the first ground of appeal, the appellant challenges the jurisdiction of the trial Court while under the 2nd ground he asserts that his conviction and sentence by the trial Court which the lower Court affirmed is not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

In keeping with the rules of this Court, parties have filed and exchanged briefs of argument which, on being identified at the hearing of the appeal, they adopted and relied upon as their arguments for and against the appeal.

The two issues the appellant distilled at paragraph 2 page 2 of his brief settled by his counsel Tochukwu Maduka Esq., read:-

“(i) Whether the trial Court had the jurisdiction to entertain the