Malachi Elisha Brown & Anor V. The State (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

REGINA OBIAGELI NWODO, J.C.A (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

On grant of leave to the Federal Attorney General as complainant to prefer criminal charges against the accused persons, the first appellant Mr. Malachi Elisha Brown and the second appellant Mr. Emmanuel Iheako were arraigned together as accused persons on the 24th of April, 2001 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in suit NO. FCT/HC/CR/29/2000 on a four count charge which read thus:

COUNT 1

That you Malachi Elisha Brown ‘M’ of No 20 Station Road, Port- Harcourt and Emmanuel Iheako ‘M’ of Bwari Town Abuja on or about 8th December, 1999 at the Nigerian Law School Bwari Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division agreed to do an illegal act to wit fraudulently altered the following forms: (1) Council of Legal Education application for admission 1993/94 form AI; (2)

Council of Legal Education Application for call to the Nigeria Bar., 1994 form CLE/BB/1 for 1994; and (3) Council of Legal Education Application for call to the Nigerian Bar 1995 form CLE/BB/I for 1995 which are in Malachi Etisha Brown’s student personal file with the Nigerian Low School and you thereby committed on offence punishable under section 97 of the Panel Code.

COUNT 2

That you Malachi Elisha Brown ‘M’ of No. 20 Station Road, Port-Harcourt and Emmanuel Iheako ‘M’ of Bwari Town, Abuja on or about 8th December 1999 at the Nigerian Law School Bwari Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division did fraudulently alter the Council of Legal Education – Application for admission for 1993/94 form A1 which is in Malachi Elisha Brown’s name in his personal student “file with the Nigerian Law School and you thereby committed on offence punishable under section 364 of the Panel Code and triable by this court.

COUNT 3

That you Malachi Elisha Brown ‘M’ of No. 20 Station Road, Port-Harcourt and Emmanuel Iheako ‘M’ of Bwari Town, Abuja on or about 8th December, 1999 at the Nigerian Law School Bwari Abuja Judicial Division did fraudulently alter the council of Legal Education Application for call to the Nigeria Bar 1994 form CLE/BB/1 for 1994, which is in Malachi Elisha Brown’s name in his personal student file with the Nigeria Law School and you thereby committed on offence punishable under section 364 of the panel Code and triable by this court.

COUNT 4

That you Malachi Elisha Brown ‘M’ of No. 20 Station Road, Port- Harcourt and Emmanuel Iheako ‘M’ of Bwari Town, Abuja on or about 8th December 1999 at the Nigerian Law School Bwari Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division did fraudulently alter the Council of Legal Education Application for call to Nigeria Bar 1995 form CLE/BB/1 for 1995, which is in Malachi Elisha Brown’s name in his personal student -file with the Nigerian Law School and your thereby committed on offence punishable under section 364 of the Panel Code and triable by this court.

The prosecution in prove of the charge called eight witnesses. At the close of the prosecution case, the defence made a no case submission and the learned trial judge in a considered ruling overruled the submission. Each of the accused persons testified and called one expert witness. At the conclusion of the evidence of witnesses, the written addresses of counsel were adopted and in a reserved and considered judgment delivered on 3rd of March, 2003, the trial court convicted each of the appellants on the four count charge of conspiracy and fraudulent alteration of three different forms in the students file in the Nigerian Law School. Each of the accused persons (now

appellants) were sentence to 6 months imprisonment on the 1st count of conspiracy and four years imprisonment on each of the remaining three counts of fraudulent alterations.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, the first appellant filed an initial notice of appeal on 10/03/2003 at pages 162 – 164 of the record.