Joseph Amoshina V. The State (2011)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

ANTHONY I. IGUH, J.S.C

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Holden at Abuja Division delivered on the 8th day of June, 2008 in appeal NO. CA/A/196C/06 in which the court affirmed the judgment of the High Court of Niger State Holden at Suleja Judicial Division in charge No. NS/RFT/4C/98 delivered on the 19th day of July, 2005 in which the court convicted the appellant of the offence of conspiracy and armed robbery contrary to sections 5(b) and 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act 1984 and sentenced him accordingly.

By an amended charge dated 1st November, 2002 the appellant who was the 2nd accused at the trial was charged, along with four others as follows:-

“1ST COUNT

That you Aminu Tanko, Joseph Amoshima and Ikechukwu Okoh on or about the 6th day of April, 1996 at Suleja, within the Niger State Judicial Division agreed among yourselves to rob one Alhaji Zakari Mohammed in his house with a Knife and the same act was done in pursuance of the agreement and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 5(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act 1984.

2ND COUNT

That you Aminu Tanko, Joseph Amoshima and Ikechukwu Okoh on or about the 6th day of April, 2006 at Suleja, within Niger State Judicial Division committed the offence of armed robbery to wit you robbed one Alhaji Zakari Mohammed of his video machine with a knife resulting in his death and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(2) of the Robbery and Firearms (special provisions) Act 1984.”

Following a no case submission made at the conclusion of the evidence of the prosecution, the original 2nd and 5th accused persons were discharged and acquitted while the 1st, 3rd and 4th accused persons were ordered to defend themselves. In the process the appellant, who was the original 3rd accused person became the 2nd of the three who defended themselves.

It is the case of the prosecution that on the 16th day of April 1996 at about 0300 hours while the deceased, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed was sleeping in his room at home at Kasuwan Dutse area of Suleja town with his family, PW1 and PW2, there were some bangs on the door of the house after which PW1 , the wife of the deceased, heard the deceased shouting and calling her name as a result of which PW1 rushed to their sitting room where she saw some people beating up her husband, the deceased. One of those beating up the deceased was said to be one Uche who was said to have been summarily convicted during the State Chief Judge’s prison decongestion exercise and was the 4th accused in the original charge of eight accused persons. The said Uche chased PW1 back to her room where she locked herself in while the beating of the deceased continued, while she shouted for help. PW1 said that after sometime, she did not hear the voice of her husband anymore and when she opened her door she found him in a pool of blood. The thieves had vanished taking along with them a video machine and some cash. PW2 a son of the deceased identified the 1st accused as one of the thieves. The deceased was later rushed to Maraba hospital where he was admitted but later died on 14/4/96. Appellant was eventually arrested and he made a confessional statement which he later retracted at the trial.

At the end of the trial, the appellant was convicted along with the others for the offences charged and sentenced accordingly, resulting in an appeal to the lower court, the issue for the determination of which are stated in the appellant brief at pages 251 – 252 of the record of appeal, as follows:-

ISSUE NO.1

Whether the Hon. trial Court was right to have convicted the Appellant without any evidence of identification since he was not arrested at the scene of crime (Ground 1).

ISSUE NO. 2

Whether considering the provisions of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act and the evidence before the court, the Hon. Trial court was right to have sentenced the Appellant to death and in ordering how the sentence of (sic) should be executed (Ground 2).