Abiodun v. State (2022)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report – SUPREME COURT

EMMANUEL AKOMAYE AGIM, J.S.C. (Delivering the Lead Judgment)

This appeal No. SC.475/2013 was commenced on 24-4-2013 when the appellant herein filed a notice of appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on 28-3-2013 in Appeal No. CA/A/246C/2013 concurring with the judgment of the High Court of Kogi State delivered on 11-5-2005 in Criminal Case No. HCL/18C/2002 convicting the appellant of the offences of conspiracy punishable under S.97 of the Penal Code, culpable homicide punishable with death under S.221(a) of the Penal Code and armed robbery punishable under S.298 (b) of the Penal Code and sentencing him to imprisonment for 10 years for the conspiracy, death by hanging on the neck for the culpable homicide punishable with death and life imprisonment for armed robbery.

The notice of this appeal was amended on the 16th November, 2017 with the leave of this Court.

To facilitate the understanding of the determination of the issues in this appeal I reproduce here the three grounds in the notice of this appeal thusly –
“GROUND ONE

The learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law by affirming the judgment of the trial Court convicting the Appellant for the offences of conspiracy when the arraignment and trial of the Appellant for the offence of conspiracy is nullity.

PARTICULARS
(i) Charges were preferred against the Appellant and other persons for conspiracy, culpable homicide punishable with death and armed robbery.
(ii) Upon their arraignment, the three Courts were read and explained to the other accused persons and their pleas were taken.
(iii) The 1st count of conspiracy was not read and explained to the Appellant and his plea was not taken (iv) There was non-compliance with the mandatory provisions of Section 187(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
(v) The arraignment, trial, conviction and sentence of the Appellant for the offence of conspiracy were invalid and the proceedings relating to that offence are nullity.

GROUND TWO
The learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law by affirming the sentence of the Appellant to life imprisonment for the offence of armed robbery, when the maximum punishment for the offence charged under the Penal Code applicable to Kogi State is 14 years imprisonment and this occasioned miscarriage of justice.

PARTICULARS
(i) The Appellant was charged for the offence of armed robbery under Section 298(b) of the Penal Code applicable to Kogi State.
(ii) The punishment prescribed for armed robbery under Section 298(b) of the Penal Code applicable to Kogi State is 14 years imprisonment.
(iii) The sentence affirmed by the Court below, which was imposed by the learned trial judge, is punishment other than that prescribed by law for the offence charged”.

The parties herein have filed, exchanged and adopted their respective briefs as follows – appellant’s further amended brief and respondent’s further amended brief.

The appellant’s further amended brief raised one issue for determination as follows –
“Whether, in the entire circumstances of this case, the Court below was right to affirm the trial, conviction and sentence of the appellant for the offences of conspiracy and armed robbery when there was invalid arraignment of the Appellant for conspiracy and when the sentence prescribed by the penal code is 14 years imprisonment and not the life imprisonment imposed on the Appellant. (Grounds 1 and 2)”.

The respondent in its further amended brief adopted and argued the lone issue raised for determination in the appellant’s brief.
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Let me determine the said lone issue.
Before I delve into the determination of the lone issue raised for determination in this appeal, let me point out that none of the three grounds of this appeal complain against appellant’s conviction for the offence of culpable homicide punishable with death and sentence to death by hanging on the neck.

The need for this is informed by the settled law that by not appealing against that finding and decision, he accepted it as correct, conclusive and binding him and has thereby chosen to undergo the execution of the sentence of death. The appellant having accepted his conviction for the offence of culpable homicide punishable with death and sentence to death, would this his appeal against conspiracy in count 1 and armed robbery in count 2 punished with custodial sentences of 10 years and life respectively result in his release from prison and if it would not, in the sense that even if his appeal succeeds and is allowed, he would still remain in prison custody to face execution of the death sentence, does it have any useful value or is it not a mere academic exercise.

My answer to this question is that the appellant’s acceptance of his conviction for the offence of culpable homicide punishable with death and sentence to death renders this appeal academic as it is bereft of any useful value. The result is that this appeal invites this Court to determine an academic issue. It is academic because its resolution one way or the other will not affect the condition of the appellant. It is settled law that Courts do not engage in the determination of academic issues. See for example Global Transport Oceanico S.A. & Anor v. Free Enterprises Nig Ltd (2001) 6 SC 154 and Imegwu v. Okolocha & Ors (2013) LPELR-19886(SC).

For the above reasons, this appeal is dismissed.