Eunice Obi V. The State (2012)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

RITA NOSAKHARE PEMU, J.C.A: (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of Honourable Justice D.O. Oluwayemi, delivered on the 30th of April 2008 wherein he, sitting at the High Court of Justice Lagos, Ikeja Division, convicted the accused – Eunice Obi for murder, thereby sentencing her to the penalty of death.

The facts and circumstances leading to the filing of this Appeal may be briefly stated as follows;

The accused person, Eunice Obi is the wife of the deceased Kenneth Chinedu Obi. They are blessed with five children. They lived at No. 285B, Ojo Igbede Road, Ojo, Lagos.

According to the prosecution, on the 23rd day of December 2002, the deceased who was a motorcycle rider (popularly known as Okada driver), came back from his normal business, took his dinner with the Appellant and his children.

At about 10.00pm, the deceased together with the Appellant went outside their home to get some fresh air. This is because there was power blackout.

According to one Funke Adeyinka, who testified as PW2, she saw the Appellant pour petrol on the deceased on the fateful night and ignited him with a lit hurricane lamp. The said Funke Adeyinka was defecating nearby that night when she saw the incident. The deceased screamed and as a result, he was rushed to Polyran Hospital at Ajangbadi, where he was admitted, and later died on the 28th of December 2002.

The accused person made a statement to the police on the 31st of December 2002. She stated that on the 23rd of December, she received some disturbing information from Funke PW2, who is the daughter to their landlord. As a result of this, she confronted the deceased regarding the information, but he asked her: why she was questioning him.

On the 24th of December 2002, at about 9.30pm, the deceased came back from work and met her and the children eating. He joined them. After the children had finished eating, they left, leaving the deceased and herself outside the house. She felt cold and went inside the house. While there, she heard people shouting outside, and she immediately rushed outside to see what was amiss. There she was told that her husband was on fire and saw people trying to rescue him. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital at Ojo, Igbede Road where he was admitted. He died on the 28th of December 2002. She was taken to Ojo police Station where she made statement to the police. She was later transferred to State C.I.D. Panti, Yaba, where she made statement to the police.

She did not pour fuel on the deceased – pages 14-15 of the Record of Appeal.

In her statement of 21/1/2003, which is reflected at page 16 of the Record of Appeal, she said that she sent one Rabiu, to buy her four litres of petrol on the 23rd of December 2002, at about 5.30pm. She gave him the sum of N150.00. She used the petrol for the deceased generator, because there was no petrol in it. She did not use the petrol to burn her husband.

Herein is the charge against the Appellant at the lower court.

STATEMENT OF OFFENCE: 1ST COUNT

Murder contrary to Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap C17, Vol. 2, Laws of Lagos State 2003.