Ifeanyi Obi V. The Attorney General Of IMO State (2014)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

RAPHAEL CHIKWE AGBO, J.C.A (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

The appellant was the first accused person in Charge No. HAM/55c/2007.

He faced a simple count of armed robbery together with the second accused.

They were arraigned at the Aboh Mbaise Judicial Division of the High Court Imo State. It was trial by information. The offence contained in the information was that the accused persons on the 9th day of April 2007 at Akabor Ahiazu Mbaise armed with firearms robbed one Dr. Reginald C. Ike of his Cherokee Jeep.

The case proceed to trial and on 26th July, 2011 the trial High Court in a considered judgment discharged and acquitted the 2nd accused, convicted the appellant of the offence of armed robbery and sentenced him to death. Dissatisfied with this judgment the appellant filed this appeal.

The facts of the case are very brief. On the night of 9th April 2007 at Akabor Ahiazu Mbaise some youth were congregated in front of the compound of one Chief Onu between 8pm and 9pm to discuss the impending marriage of one of the village girls. There was no public power supply but Chief Onu’s electricity generator was on. Dr. Reginald Ike had a residence about one hundred metres away from Chief Onu’s. A lone motorcycle came along.

There were three persons on it. Some of the youth felt they recognized one of the passengers on the motorcycle as a young man they know as “Anyiam” from a neighboring community. They hailed him calling out “Anyiam” and he purportedly responded by waving back at them. Soon thereafter a Cherokee Jeep drove past. The motorcycle allegedly followed it. A couple of minutes later the group of youth heard a distress call of “thief” “thief” from Dr. Ike’s compound.

They rushed to the place where they were informed by Dr. Ike that he had just been disposed of his Chirokee Jeep by two armed men at the gate of his house. The youth were convinced that it could only have been perpetrated by those they saw on the motorcycle. They proceeded to Anyiam’s village where they did not meet Anyiam but found a “warm” motorcycle which they seized as they were convinced the motorcycle was the one used by the robbers.

That night the robbery was incidented at the Police Station by a brother of Dr. Ike against the 2nd accused and the mother and sister of “Anyiam” later on hearing that his mother and sister were in police custody the 1st accused turned himself in to the police and in his statement to the police denied partaking in the robbery stating that he was resident in Ghana but on 9-4-2007 had come down Lagos to purchase motor spare parts. He stayed with his sister and returned to Ghana the next day.

Upon conviction the appellant filed a seven ground notice of appeal wit:

GROUNDS OF APPEAL

GROUND ONE: ERROR IN LAW

“The trial court prejudged the case when it commenced its judgment thus “the accused persons on 9/4/07 at Akabor ahiazu Mbaise in Aboh Mbaise Judicial Division armed with firearms did rob one Dr. Reginald C. Ike of his grand Cherokee jeep contrary to S. 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, cap 398 vol. (xxii) 1 L.R.N, 1990. They were arraigned before me on one count information.

GROUND TWO: ERROR IN LAW