Abdul Majeed Nasiru Vs Commissioner Of Police (1980)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

NNAMANI, J.S.C. 

The appellant Abdul Majeed Nasiru was on the 18th March, 1974 convicted by the Magistrate First Grade Jos on 2 counts of theft of 3 bags of guinea corn belonging to his employers contrary to Section 289 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to a fine of N120 or six months imprisonment in default.

The fine has since been paid. The appellant appealed to the High Court of the Northern States of Nigeria, Benue/Plateau Judicial Division which on 20th September, 1974 dismissed his appeal. It is from that judgment that appeal is now made to this Court. It is pertinent to add that the appeal to this Court was filed on 1st March, 1976. It was struck out on 1/6/78 as conditions of appeal were not completed but was on the application of the appellant relisted on 6/12/79 for hearing by this Court. Briefly the facts of this case as disclosed by the prosecution and defence were as follows;

On 14th September, 1973 the appellant who works with the Nigerian Livestock and Meat Authority as a Senior Poultry Development Assistant removed 3 bags of guinea corn from the store of the Nigerian Livestock and Meat Authority Poultry Unit Jos. He ordered one Monday Dashal PW3 to bring out the 3 bags from the store and to put them inside a land rover driven by Aliyu Burtai PW 4. Aliyu Burtai was to call Ibrahim Magaji P.W.5 who was to show him where to deliver the bags. Ibrahim Magaji directed Aliyu Burtai to Anglo Jos Market where the bags of corn were delivered to one Audu Ali 2nd accused in the case.

Ibrahim Magaji himself claimed that on 13th September the appellant requested him to find someone to buy some guinea corn and that he got 2nd accused. He claimed that the 2nd accused deposited N10 with him and he informed the appellant about this. He further said later the 2nd accused gave him another N12 as part payment which he took to the appellant but appellant told him to keep both the N10 and the N12. The events were reported to Mr. Eniola who is the project manager in-charge of Nigerian Livestock and Meat Authority who lodged a complaint to the Police. The 3 bags of guinea corn were recovered.

The appellant denied the charges and claimed rather that on 5/9/73 Solomon Akume the storekeeper PW2 and Ibrahim Magaji approached him and said they had a problem. Solomon Akume told him that Ibrahim Magaji’s wife had put to bed. He said they needed money for naming ceremony. Solomon Akume, he said, suggested that they could help Ibrahim Magaji by taking out 4 bags of guinea corn from the Poultry Store on loan. The appellant said he agreed to 3 bags. He said he told the storekeeper to be patient until he saw Mr. Eniola who would authorise the loan.

He had not obtained approval from Mr. Eniola because he was on sick-leave. Appellant stated that if Mr. Eniola was not available he could approve the loan. On 14/9/73 Solomon Akume and Ibrahim Magaji came to his office and said they wanted to take out the 3 bags. They all went to the store and in the presence of all of them the 3 bags of guinea corn were loaded into the Land rover. Appellant claimed he did not want any benefit for himself but was only helping Magaji get a loan which if it was not paid he would pay. At the close of the evidence of the prosecution, the Magistrate exercising his powers under section 172 of the Criminal Procedure Code Cap. 30 Laws of Northern Nigeria framed the following charge against the appellant:

“That you – Abdul Majeed Nasiru, on or about the 14th day of September 1973, at the Poultry Unit Jos within the Benue Plateau Magisterial District being a servant employed in the capacity of a Senior Poultry Development Assistant by the Nigerian Livestock and Meat Authority, committed theft by stealing property, to wit: you stole 3 bags of guinea corn then in the possession of the said Nigerian Livestock and Meat Authority and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 289 of the Penal Code and triable by this Court . . .”

The learned trial Magistrate in his judgment after carefully reviewing the evidence stated

“In respect of Magaji and Akume . . . I have no doubt in my mind that the 1st accused removed the 3 bags from the store in order to help Ibrahim Magaji out of a financial embarrassment connected with a naming ceremony he wanted to organise. In this connection, I believe that the statement made by Ibrahim Magaji marked Exhibit 8 shows exactly what happened that day. It appears to me that Ibrahim Magaji is disowning the statement because he wanted to save himself from criminal prosecution. If it is true that Ibrahim Magaji were merely acting as an innocent agent of the 1st accused he would not have hesitated to reveal that he received N22 from the 2nd accused for the 1st accused. The investigator PW7 told the court that Ibrahim Magaji did not mention anything about the N22 when he recorded a statement from him. Both Solomon Akume and Ibrahim Magaji lied to the Court when they said that they did not go to the 1st accused and request him for a loan of 3 bags of guinea corn for Ibrahim Magaji. ”

Later on in his judgment the learned trial Magistrate recommended

“that both Solomon Akume and Ibrahim Magaji be charged for abetting the offence committed by the 1st accused.”

It is against the conviction that the appellant appealed to the High Court and to this Court. Before the High Court the appellant filed 2 grounds of appeal, ground 2 of which stated:

“The Magistrate erred in law in proceeding with the case at the end of the evidence for the prosecution when the said evidence disclosed a case of conspiracy between some of the witnesses and the appellant to which the said Magistrate had no jurisdiction.”