John Idagu V .the State (2018)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

AMINA ADAMU AUGIE, J.S.C.

The Appellant was tried and convicted by the High Court of Ondo State, for the murder of two persons – Stephen Ogbeche [first deceased] and his son, John Ogbeche, [second deceased]. He was sentenced to death.

The Prosecution called five Witnesses and tendered four Exhibits, including the Appellants Statement to the Police, which he had objected to on the ground of involuntariness. The trial Court conducted a trial-within-trial and found that the Statement was indeed made voluntarily, and the Statement was thereafter admitted in evidence as Exhibit P2.

In his defence, the Appellant denied the Charge and gave his own version of what transpired on that day, which amounted to self defence. He testified that he accompanied “Julius Ogbeche” to obtain a loan of N4, 000.00 from Stephen Ogbeche (first deceased), which he gave him, on condition that Julius pays back N8, 000.00 at the end of November.

When the loan became due, the first deceased asked the Appellant for the whereabouts of Julius Ogbeche on two different occasions and when Appellant insisted that

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he did not know where Julius Ogbeche was, the first deceased then reported the matter to the Police on 18/12/2005.

The Appellant was arrested and taken to Oda Police Station where he was detained until 7pm that day. He was only released after he signed an agreement promising to pay the debt at the end of December 2005. On 21/12/2005, the first deceased sent his wife to ask him for the money. He gave her N1,000.00 but she insulted him, tore his shirt and started to fight him in the presence of the family, and as the fight was going on, the wife of first deceased ran inside the room and came out with a cutlass. Afraid for his life, he threw a stick at her and then collected the cutlass, but her whole family gathered around him, and it was during the struggle to take the cutlass from him that he started “to use the cutlass on them”.

PW1, Godwin Oga, and PW2, Janet Ogbeche, the daughter of the first deceased, were eye-witnesses for the Prosecution, and the point of divergence between their evidence and Appellant’s testimony is that they testified that he brought out the cutlass, which he hid within himself, and started to cut the first deceased; his wife and the second deceased.

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The learned trial Judge, Adeyanju, J., believed the two Witnesses, and in his Judgment delivered on 22/11/2012, he concluded as follows:

I find that the acts of the Accused coming from his house with a cutlass and inflicting same on the deceased was intentionally done with the knowledge that death or grievous bodily was its probable consequence. The act of the Accused was an unprovoked assault on the two deceased. – – I hold that the prosecution has proved its case against the Accused beyond reasonable doubt. I find the Accused guilty of the offence of murder – – – The sentence of this Court – – is that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead.

Dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed his Appeal and affirmed the decision of the trial Court. Further aggrieved, the Appellant appealed to this Court with a Notice of Appeal containing three Grounds of Appeal and he has formulated two Issues for Determination in his Brief of Argument, thus:

1. WHETHER OR NOT, in view of the evidence on the record, the Court below erred in upholding the decision of the trial Court

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