Habibu Usman V. The State (2013)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MARY UKAEGO PETER-ODILI, J.S.C.

The Appellant is a native of Haragawa Village in Illellah Local Government Area of Sokoto state and was married to the deceased Salamatu Habibu. The marriage was contracted in 1992. On or about the 17th February, 1995, the deceased left their matrimonial home purportedly to fetch water and proceeded to her parent’s home. Mediation efforts to reconcile the couple faired. On or about the 11th of March, 1995, the deceased died of injuries inflicted on her with the allegation on the Appellant to have caused her death. He was charged before the High Court Sokoto for culpable homicide punishable with death under Section 221 of the penal Code. The Appellant was tried and convicted of the charge and sentenced to death by the Honourable Justice D. B. Sambo on the 16th May, 2006 and in dissatisfaction, Appellant appealed to the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal hereinafter also called the Court below. That court on the 8th April, 2010 dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgment of the trial High court.

Further dissatisfied, the Appellant filed a Notice of Appeal containing a lone ground.

On the 21st February, 2013 date of hearing, learned counsel for the Appellant adopted his Brief of Argument settled by N. Ekanem filed on 2/7/10. In the Brief was distilled a single issue which is thus:-

Whether the guilt of the Appellant was established and proved beyond reasonableness of the Court of Appeal decision affirming the conviction of the Appellant having regard to the evidence before the court.

Learned counsel for the Respondent adopted the Brief of Argument settled by Inuwa Abdul-Kadir, Attorney General of Sokoto state which Brief was filed on 11/3/,and deemed filed on 6/7/11. A single issue was also framed for the determination of the Appeal and it is stated as follows:-

Whether the Court of Appeal was right in law in upholding the decision of the trial court that the Appellant committed culpable homicide punishable with death regards being had to the evidence adduced before the Court.

This issue as formulated by the Respondent seem better constructed for use even though in substance it is similar to what the Appellant was trying to put across which in effect is whether the evidence adduced met the standard of proof in a criminal proceedings upon which the Appellant was found guilty for culpable Homicide punishable with death.

In his arguments, learned counsel for the Appellant stated that the prosecution bears the burden of proving the guilt of the accused person beyond reasonable doubt and failure to do so or where any of the ingredients of the offence is lacking the accused is discharged and acquitted. He restated the ingredients of the offence of culpable homicide punishable with death under section 221 of the Penal Code under which the Accused/Appellant was charged. He cited the cases of Aroyewun v Commissioner of Police (2004) 16 NWLR (pt.899) 414 at 438; Shande v State (2055) 1 NWLR (pt. 907) 218 at 238.

He went on to say that for a conviction to endure the prosecution in a situation as the present, has a duty to establish the cause of death with certainty and to show that it was the accused that caused that death. He referred to Apuso v State (2006) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1002) 227 at 254 – 255.

Going on, learned counsel said that from the statement of PW3 who was stating his evidence on the assumption that Appellant wounded the deceased and pW3,s wife just because he saw Appellant and saw the wounded persons. Also under that assumption is that the Appellant killed the deceased. That the circumstance did not point to the Appellant and no one else as being the culprit. He relied on Apugo v The State (2006) 16 NWLR (pt.1002) 227 at 254; Aroyewun v. COP (2004) 16 NWLR (Pt.899) 414 at 432.

He concluded by saying that the guilt of the Appellant was not proved beyond reasonable doubt having regard to the evidence before the court and so the Appellant is entitled to a discharge and

acquittal.

Learned counsel for the Respondent said it was not disputed that Salamatu died, this from the evidence of PW2, PW3, PW4, PW5, PW6 and also Exhibits 3, 3A and 4 confessional statements of the Appellant and the medical report. He said the inevitable conclusion a rational person would come to and which the courts below did is that the accused person caused the death of the deceased. That it is misleading to suggest that Appellant must be seen committing the offence before he can be convicted of the said offence. Also that in the confessional statements, the Appellant gave such graphic details which have to be taken as true. He cited Ejiofor v. The state (2006) NSCQR (Pt. 1) 209 at 212; Saburi Adebayo v A.G., Ogun (2008) 3 NCC 305 at 308.