Geoffrey Ozigbo V. Commissioner Of Police (1976)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

A. R. ALEXANDER, C.J.N. 

The Appellant was jointly charged with two other Accused persons and convicted on three out of five counts by a Senior Magistrates Court in the Lagos Magisterial District.  These three counts read as follows:

2nd Court- That you Adeniyi Ladipo, Geoffrey Ozigbo and Erci Nwanze between the 5th day and 6th day of March 1972 at Star Match Company Apapa, stole a Standard Bank of Nigeria Limited cheque leaf No. AK/1 581741, valued 2d. (Two pence) property of Star Match Company Apapa and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 390 section 390 of the Criminal Code.

3rd Court-That you Geoffery Ozigbo on 6th day of March, 1972 at African Continental Bank Apapa in the Lagos Magisterial District, forged a Standard Bank of Nigeria Limited Cheque Leaf No. AK/1 581741 for the sum of 2,786pounds.(Two Thousand Seven Hundred and eigthty six pounds,Ten shillings) purporting same to have been made by Farouk Paulus and Basil Abbou of Star Match Company Limited Apapa and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 467 of the Criminal Code.

5th Count- That you Adeniyi Ladipo, Geoggery Ozigbo and Eric Nwanze between the 5th day and 10th day of March 1972 at Apapa in the Lagos Magisterial District attempted to commit felony to wit:-Stealing the sum of $2,786.10(Two thousand seven hundred and eighty-six pounds, Ten shillings) property of Star Match Company and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 509 of the Criminal Code.

The two other Accused persons charged with the Appellant were found not guilty and were accordingly acquitted and discharged, but the Appellant was sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour on the 2nd count, 3 years imprisonment with hard labour on the 3rd count, and 18 months imprisonment with hard labour on the 5th count, the sentences to run concurrently.

The Appellant was an accountant at the Apapa Branch of the African Continental Bank. His duties included opening letters of credit and authentication of entries made in the books of the Bank. One of his co-Accused Adeniyi Ladipo was the accountant of a company called Star Match Limited, while the other co-Accused. Eric Nwanze was the verifying clerk and officer in charge of the Current Accounts Section of the Apapa Branch of the African Continental Bank, and a colleague of the Appellant.
The cheque leaf, Exhibit A. belonged to Star Match Limited, but was stolen from the company and forged, purporting to be drawn in favour of a fictitious firm named Emeka Edward and Co. for $2,786.10.0d, by Star Match Limited. On 1st May 1972, an account had been opened with $50.0.0d. by a person or persons who could not be traced or identified subsequently, in the name of Emeka Edward & Co. at the Apapa Branch of the African Continental Bank. Star Match Limited had an account at the Apapa Branch of Standard Bank of Nigeria Limited.

Five days later the forged cheque for $2,786.10.0d. Exhibit A was lodged at the Apapa Branch of the African Continental Bank with a view to crediting this amount to the fictitious account of Emeka Edward & Co. The cheque leaf Exhibit A was afterwards found to be missing from the end of one of the cheque books of Star Match Limited.  It had been extracted and drawn on the Companys account at the Standard Bank of Nigeria Limited in favour of the fictitious firm named Emeka Edward & Co. for $2,786.10.0d. The cheque was purported to be signed by two of the Companys authorised signatories, by name Farouk Paulus and Bassey Abbou, neither of whom had in fact signed it.

The amount for which the cheque was drawn was in excess of the overdraft facilities allowed the company by Standard Bank of Nigeria Limited, and consequently, the cheque was returned to African Continental Bank where as previously mentioned, an account had only recently been opened in the name of the fictitious firm of Emeka Edward & Co. In order to open this account certain forms Exhibit C to C3 were completed on behalf of the fictitious partnership. These forms purport to contain the names of the firms two referees. Exhibit C. is one of the forms of identification of the proposed customers purporting to be signed by ”Alhaji Mamuda Imam,” while Exhibit C1 is the form of application for opening a new current account and Exhibit C2 is the form of application for opening a partnership account. Exhibit C3 is the form of application for opening a partnership account. Exhibit C3 is another form of identification of the proposed customers, purporting to be signed by ”Cyprian Onwu”, a second referee. Neither of these referees could be traced. The handwriting analyst called by the prosecution, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Patrick Nwananna, after comparing the handwriting on the forged cheque Exhibit A and the forms Exhibits C and C1 with the specimen handwritings of the Appellant, Exhibits H and H1, testified that he was of the opinion that the Appellant forged the cheque and completed the forms.

The Appellant denied the charge and called Johnson Ijioma, a former head of the Disputed Documents Section of the Lagos C. I. D. to testify on his behalf. Johnson Ijioma, after making his own comparisons, testified that the Appellant neither forged the cheque nor completed the forms. The Senior Magistrate was not impressed with his evidence and preferred the evidence of Assistant Superintendent of Police, Patrick Nwananna.

The Senior Magistrate further had recourse to section 107 (1) of the Evidence Act in order to satisfy himself on this issue. Section 107(1) of the Evidence Act provides as follows:-

”In order to ascertain whether a signature, writing, seal or finger impression is that of the person by whom it purports to have been written or made, any signature, writing, seal or finger impression admitted or proved to the satisfaction of the court to have been written or made by that person may be compared with the one which is to be proved although that signature, writing, seal or finger impression has not been produced or proved for any other purpose.”

After making his own comparison of the handwritings he came to the conclusion and found as a fact that the Appellant forged the cheque.

The Appellant first appealed to the High Court of Lagos State. His appeal was dismissed. He then appealed to this Court, after obtaining leave from the court below. At the hearing of the appeal in this Court, learned counsel for the Appellant argued the following grounds of appeal-