Ahmadu Garba V. The State (2016)

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TUNDE OYEBANJI AWOTOYE, J.C.A. 

This is the judgment in respect of the appeal of the appellant vide his Notice of Appeal filed on 6/5/2014 challenging the judgment of D.B. Sambo J. of Sokoto High Court on 5 grounds.

The grounds of appeal (shorn of the particulars are set out hereunder)
?Ground one
The decision of the Court below is unreasonable, unwanted and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence adduced at the trial.
Ground two
The Court below erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice on the Appellant when in convicting and sentence the appellant to death for the offence contrary to Section 221 (b) of the penal code, it failed and/or neglected to consider the case or evidence against the appellant separately from that of Abu Damo with whom the appellant was being tried jointly.
Ground three
The Court below erred in law when in convicting and sentencing the appellant to death for the offence contrary to Section 221(b) of the penal code, it relied in the evidence of PW?s 1 & 2 to convict the appellant and this has occasioned a miscarriage of

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justice.
Ground four
The Court below erred in law when in convicting and sentencing the Appellant to death for the offence contrary to Section 221 (b) of the penal code, it denied the appellant his constitutional right to fair hearing thereby occasioned a miscarriage of justice on the appellant when it failed and neglected to consider all the defence/s open up to the appellant on the evidence adduced before the Court below but considered only the case presented by the prosecution against the appellant. Ground five
The Court below erred in law and prejudiced the constitutional right of fair hearing of the appellant an guarantee under Section 36(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 when in convicting and sentencing the appellant to death for the offence contrary to Section 221 (b) of the penal code, the Court refused and/or failed to consider the cross examination of PW1 & PW2 on record before placing probative value on some and using the same evidence in convicting and sentencing the appellant to death for the offence contrary to Section 221 (b) of the penal code law and this has occasioned a miscarriage of justice. The

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charge against the accused at the lower Court reads thus
“That you Samaila Umaru, Salihu Sule, Buhari Idi, ibrahim Umaru, Abubakar Labaran, Dahiru Danjoda, Abu Damo, Ahamdu Garba and Sanusi Umaru all males of Kwargaba and Araba Village Wurno Local Government Area Sokoto State, on or about the 3rd April, 2012 at 2200hrs in Kwargaba Village, did commit the offence of Culpable Homicide punishable with death in that you caused the death of one Ardo Umaru ?M? by inflicting serious bodily injuries with cutlass and sticks on him as a result he died on the spot you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 221 (b) of the Penal Code.?

The respective pleas of the accused persons was taken after which the learned trial Judge heard the parties.

On 13/3/2014, His Lordship of the lower Court found the accused now appellant guilty and convicted him accordingly.

The appellant was referred to as the 8th accused in the judgment of the lower Court. The learned trial Judge gave reasons for his conviction on pages 260 ? 261 of the record of appeal as follows
?8th Accused ? Ahmadu Garba ? DW7:
This accused gave

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evidence as DW7 and made two statements to the police at the CID Office Sokoto in the Exhibits P18 and P19, P19A dated the 7/8/2012 respectively. In the first statement, he narrated that though aware of the fight between the Hausa and Fulanis that took place on the 3/4/2014, he did not take part. The extent of his participation was only that he helped stopped the Arba people from entering Kwargaba village and thereafter went home to sleep. His statement was taken late because he ran to Lagos immediately the unfortunate incident. However, in his second statements in the Exhibits P19, P19A, the 8th accused disclosed that he and Abu Damo was among the persons that pursued the deceased to the bush where he was attacked by the crowd and consequently the deceased death. It is worthy of note here that none of the prosecution witnesses identified him rather, it is his confession to that effect. But his evidence on oath he denied having participated in the attack. He denied making P19, P19A and said he was arrested was in the month of August 2012 (sic).
?For certain, though none of the prosecution witnesses identified this accused as one of the attackers on the fateful

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day on which the ugly incidence took place, in his statement made in the Exhibits P19, P19A, he has confessed his participation. It is found in the above statements the accused saw when the deceased came out from a house and they all pursued him untill he was killed near the cemetery. He confessed pursuing the deceased to the point he was killed. Whoever was in the pursue race had a conceived common purpose to wit killing the deceased. This accused therefore is accountable like each of any person in that crowd.?