Bamidele Simeon V. The State (2018)

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KUDIRAT MOTONMORI OLATOKUNBO KEKERE-EKUN, J.S.C.

The appellant herein was charged before the High Court of Ondo State, sitting at Akure with a one count charge of murder contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Cap.30 Vol. II Laws of Ondo State, 1978. He was alleged to have murdered one Godwin Ocheidu at Oda Barracks, Akure on or about the 26th day of April 2009 by attacking him with an axe. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The facts of the case, as stated by PW1, Assistant Superintendent of Police Obetan are as follows: The appellant, a Police officer who was on posting in Abuja, came to Akure where his family resides late in the evening on Sunday, 26h April 2009. Upon entering his bedroom, he found one Godwin apparently engaged in sexual intercourse with his wife. He tried to catch him but he escaped. He reported the matter to the provost of the barracks who advised him to make a formal complaint at the Police station. He accordingly reported the matter at the Oda Divisional Police Station. He was told to return the next morning, 27th April, as it was

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rather late. About thirty minutes later, the appellant’s wife made a report at the station that she had been attacked by the appellant and some other people. The appellant was invited back and he repeated his accusation that he found her having intercourse with the said Godwin in their matrimonial home. His wife denied this. The appellant returned to the Police station the following day and made a statement regarding what had transpired the previous day. Sometime after the appellant left the Police station, PW1 received a message that the corpse of a man was found lying beside the road. Accompanied by other Police officers, he went to the scene. They discovered that it was Godwin’s corpse. The corpse was deposited at the mortuary. A search for the appellant was initially unsuccessful. It was later found that he had returned to Abuja and resumed duty. He was arrested and taken back to Akure. The case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.D.).

Apart from PW1, two other witnesses testified for the prosecution. They tendered several exhibits marked Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, E1 and F – F3 respectively. Exhibit

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C is a confessional statement. The appellant testified in his own defence and did not call any other witness. At the conclusion of the trial, and after considering the written addresses of learned counsel, the trial Court, in a considered judgment delivered on 27/6/2012, found the appellant guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter, having found that the defence of provocation availed him. He was convicted and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. He was dissatisfied with the judgment and appealed to the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, which dismissed the appeal on 14/11/2014. He is still aggrieved and has further appealed to this Court vide his Notice of Appeal filed on 4/12/2014 containing four grounds of appeal.

At the hearing of the appeal on 1st February, 2018, ADEKUNLE OJO ESQ., leading EMEKA DIRIBE ESQ. adopted and relied on the appellant’s brief filed on 16/2/15 in urging the Court to allow the appeal, ADEKOLA OLAWOYE ESQ., Hon. Attorney General of Ondo State, leading STELLA ADEGOKE ESQ., Deputy Director Public Prosecution and A. A. OLADUNMIYE ESQ., Principal Legal Officer, adopted the respondent’s brief, which was deemed filed on 1/2/18 in urging the Court

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to dismiss the appeal.

Two issues were formulated for the determination of this appeal by learned counsel for the appellant as follows:

1. Whether or not the decision of the Lower Court upholding the conviction of the appellant for manslaughter is, in view of the evidence on the record, perverse, unsupportable and thereby occasion (sic) a miscarriage of justice
2. Whether or not Exhibit C, which was the basis for upholding the conviction of the appellant for the death of Godwin Ochiedu met the laid down legal test of reliability

Learned counsel for the respondent formulated a single issue thus:

“Whether, given the nature and quality of evidence adduced by the prosecution and the totality of the evidence placed before it, the Honourable Court of Appeal was right in law when the Court upheld the judgment and conviction of D. I. Kolawole, J. in charge No.CA/AK/21C/2011 delivered on the 27th day of June, 2012.”