Christopher Edong V. The State (2014)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

MOJEED ADEKUNLE OWOADE, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Ondo State, delivered on 27th day of March 2012 by Honourable Justice T.O. Osoba sitting at Akure.

The Appellant was charged by information with the offence of murder contrary to section 316(1) and punishable under section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 30 Vol. 11, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 1978.

The case for the prosecution was that the deceased one Emmanuel Odey was a friend of the Appellant. They are both friends from Cross River State and are engaged in farming in Abusoro via Ita-Ogbolu, Ondo State.

On or about the 17th day of December, 2007, the police received a complaint from one Christopher Edong (the Appellant that one Emmanuel Odey had been killed by Armed Robbers. However, one Michael Emeka a relative of the deceased person reported to the police that it was the same Christopher Edong who shot and killed the deceased and not Armed Robbers.

The police started their investigation and in the main time arrested the Appellant who later confessed that he shot the deceased person in the belief that he was an Armed Robber that came to rob them in their camp.

on the other hand, the Appellant said that about five (5) armed robbers invaded their Abusoro-Itaogbolu camp on the night of the incident and waylaid the deceased. In seeing what happened, the Appellant ran into the bush and as his deceased brother was shouting his name and asking which path or route of the bush he took, he was shot by the robbers. The Appellant was in the bush till the morning when on hearing of the death of the deceased he went to the police station to report the incident.

The prosecution called two (2) witnesses and tendered five (5) exhibits, the Appellant gave evidence in his defence but did not call any witness.

On the 27th day of March, 2012 the learned trial judge delivered judgment in the case wherein he found the Appellant guilty of murder and convicted him accordingly.

Dissatisfied with the conviction and sentence, the Appellant at first filed a Notice of Appeal on 16/4/2012 but later filed and relied on an Amended Notice of Appeal containing seven (7) grounds of appeal.

Learned Counsel for the Appellant filed a brief of argument dated 5/6/2012 on 7-6-2012 but was deemed filed on 7/5/2014.

Learned Counsel for the Respondent filed a brief of argument dated 30/5/2014 and filed on the same day.

Learned Counsel for the Appellant nominated five (5) issues for determination. They are:

1. Whether the trial court was right by relying on Exhibits B, B1 and E to convict the Appellant of the offence of murder (Grounds 2 and 3 of the Amended Notice of Appeal).
2. Whether any confession alleged by the prosecution to exist in Exhibit B1 or Exhibit B, B1 and E passed relevant truth tests laid down by case law to warrant the trial court’s reliance thereon to convict the Appellant (Ground 4 of the Amended Notice of Appeal).
3. Whether in view of the fact that the wives of the deceased Emmanuel Odey were not called as witnesses the trial court was right in admitting what it called their statements in evidence and relying on the same (Ground 6 of the Amended Notice of Appeal).
4. whether having regard to the evidence led at the trial, the prosecution proved the guilt of the Appellant beyond reasonable doubt or at all (Grounds 1 and 5 of the Amended Notice of Appeal).
5. Whether the trial court was right in proceeding to sentence the Appellant to death after conviction without affording him right of allocutus and what is the effect of this (Ground 7 of the Amended Notice of Appeal).

Learned counsel for the Respondent formulated only three (3) issues for determination as follows: