Imo Akpan Bassey V. The State (2019)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

AMIRU SANUSI, J.S.C.

This is a criminal appeal against the judgment of the Calabar division of the Court of Appeal (“the lower or court below” for short) delivered on 26th day of April, 2016 which affirmed the decision of the Akwa-Ibom State High Court, Uyo judicial division (Coram Imeh E. Umanah J) of 30th day of June, 2011 in Suit No.HU/21C/2007 wherein the accused person now appellant, was convicted of the offence of murder and sentenced to death. The offence with which the accused/appellant was charged and tried was that of murder, contrary to Section 323 (1) of Criminal Code, Cap 38 Vol.II, Laws of Akwa-Ibom State.

FACTS OF THE CASE

The facts of the case leading to this appeal as could be gleaned from the record of appeal are briefly put thus:-

The case of the prosecution was that one Emem Effiong Etuk (an estranged wife of the accused (complainant) travelled to pay a visit to the accused person/appellant who was keeping custody of her two children, namely Philip Imon Akpan and Magdalene Imoh Akpan at Udem Ebom, after she was informed that the accused/appellant had relocated to

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Mbiabong (the last known address of the accused) to the said Ndom Ebom. It was also the case of the prosecution that the complainant did not meet the two children and when she asked of their whereabouts the appellant could not give reasonable or satisfactory explanation. Sequel to that, the complainant reported a case of child stealing at Ifia-gon Police station and the accused/appellant was thereupon arrested. The appellant initially informed the police that he sold the two children to one “Alhaji” at the cost of N100,000. The case was later transferred to the State CID where the accused person thereupon volunteered two statements, dated 16/12/2007 and 17/1/2007 both of which were tendered at the trial and admitted as Exhibits A and B respectively.

In Exhibit A, the appellant stated that he sold the two children, but further investigation revealed that he actually killed the two children to which he later confessed in Exhibit B. Both of them were aged three years at the time of their untimely death.

Investigation further revealed that the appellant threw them into the river leading to the High Sea at Oron.

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During the trial, the appellant as accused person, testified for his defence, wherein he stated that the cause of their death was due to accident which occurred while travelling by water with the two children in a boat. At the end of the trial the trial judge found the appellant guilty of murder and sentence him to death.

Dissatisfied with his conviction and sentence to death by the trial Court, the appellant unsuccessfully lodged an appeal at the lower Court below.

As has been the practice in this Court, briefs of argument were filed and exchanged by parties. The appellant’s brief of argument settled by Chioma A. Wogu was filed on 30th November, 2016 wherein, the appellant decoded a lone issue for the determination of the appeal which was couched thus:-

“Whether the Court of Appeal was right in affirming the conviction of the appellant for murder having regard to the evidence before the Court.” (Distilled from Grounds 1 – 7 of the Notice of Appeal)