Fasilat Adepoju V. The State (2018)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

EJEMBI EKO, J.S.C.

The Appellant was tried at, and convicted by, the Lagos State High Court (coram: O. A. Williams, J) on a two count charge alleging conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery contrary respectively to Sections 403(a) and 402(1) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C.17 vol. 2 Laws of Lagos State, 2003. She was jointly tried for the two offences with one Kazeem Raimi, her boyfriend. They were convicted for the said two offences. The Appellant’s appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal (the lower Court); hence, this further appeal.

Etiosa Osigbo-Esere, the alleged victim of the robbery, testified as Pw.1. She had known the Appellant intimately for a while. The Appellant lived with one Linda Ofili who lived as Pw.1’s tenant in the Boys Quarters of the same apartment. The Appellant was Linda Ofili’s house help or nanny. Most times the Pw.1 invited the Appellant to her living room in the main building where they watched television together. The Pw.1 claimed that she occasionally gave the Appellant some of her dresses she no longer needed.

Pw.1 testified that on 4th January, 2006

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between 8.30 and 9.00pm, a man intruded and barged on her through the back doors that were open as she was cooking. The man wore a red baseball cap. He was followed by a lady who “had tied a veil around her face”. They pushed her to the living room. Pw.1 was ordered to kneel down by the man and the lady. Pw.1 obliged. They ordered her to surrender her jewelleries, valuables and money. The man collected Pw.1’s Nokia 6310 handset from her. As she tried to move the lady commanded: “Don’t move or I will scar your face”. Pw.1 was frightened. She however not only recognized Appellant’s voice, she also recognized the pair of shoes she had earlier given to the Appellant, as handout. The man, identified as the 1st accused, did not cover his face. The Pw.1 noticed the tribal marks on his face.

Pw.1 further narrated that the duo had warned her that they were armed and that if she did not co-operate they would harm her. She, accordingly, did not resist. They led her into the rooms and collected 3 wrist watches, a pair of white gold earrings, a set of gold earrings and a pendant with blue beads. They brought her back to the living room. The Appellant commanded her

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to kneel down there and she did. The Appellant, while the Pw.1 knelt down, allegedly disconnected the LG Silver 32 Inch Television set and took it out. She came back and removed PW.1’s DVD player, Video set and a Starcom phone. While Appellant was allegedly doing all these, Pw.1 noticed “something bulging underneath (the 1st Accused’s) shorts at the right hand side” when he was watching over her as she knelt down. She took the “bulging something” as the weapon they said they had on them.

The Appellant, as the Dw.2, testified that the 1st Accused was her boyfriend. That while she was engaged as a nanny, one Mr. Robert, the husband of her boss had raped and impregnated her. On confirming that she was pregnant, the Appellant averred that she informed the husband of her boss about it and warned that if he did not find solution she would tell his wife. Mr. Robert and the Appellant settled at some money to be given to her to “buy hair dryers” – the tools of her trade. Mr. Robert further promised to give her N100,000.00 in addition.

The Appellant testified further that on the fateful day she had gone to the Boys Quarter where Linda, her boss,

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resided to remove Linda’s property. The reason for this, in her words –

What I did is, because Linda’s husband failed on his promise and I live with Linda, I took her belongings knowing that if she tell her husband, he will give me the money he promised me.