Okechi Jeremiah V. The State (2012)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

UWANI MUSA ABBA AJI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This appeal is against the judgment of Hon. Justice E. I. Isuama sitting at the High Court of Isiala Ngwa of Abia State delivered on the 19th day of December, 1994 wherein the Appellant was convicted and sentenced to death under Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code.

The facts of this case from the evidence on record is that on the 11th day of June, 1987, the Appellant was said to have gone to the house of PW1 around 8pm and requested to know from the PW1 why PW1 asked him not to come to his house any longer. The PW1 asked the Appellant to go away in that he was tired. The Appellant refused to leave the house and there ensued an altercation which attracted the deceased who was the brother of PW1 to come to their place.

The deceased tried to intervene in the quarrel but the Appellant picked offence with him and drew a dagger from his pocket which he used in stabbing the deceased on the chest. The deceased fell and died immediately. The Appellant ran away from the scene but was arrested 4 days later in a railway station.

In his own defence, the Appellant stated that he was called by the PW1 as he was returning from the market and he stopped in answer to the call but the PW1 and the deceased fought him and injured him. That it was the PW1 who dealt the fatal blow that killed the deceased

Three witnesses gave evidence for the prosecution and tendered Exhibits A, B and C being PW2’s Statement to the Police, Appellant’s confessional Statement to the police and proceedings from an earlier trial in evidence. The Appellant testified in his own defence and called two other witnesses. At the end of the trial, the Appellant was found guilty and sentenced to death.

It is against the said Judgment that the Appellant appealed before us upon the following two Grounds of Appeal, vide a Notice and Grounds of Appeal dated 4th day of January, 1995 to wit:-

1. The learned trial Judge erred in law by failing to consider whether the issue of self defence availed the Appellant in view of overwhelming evidence from both the prosecution to the effect that there was a serious fight. (Particulars of error supplied.)
2. The learned trial Judge erred in law by picking and choosing amongst contradictory evidence of the prosecution witnesses as to what happened at the scene of the incident.

With the leave of the court granted on the 30th October, 2011, the Appellant filed the following additional Grounds of Appeal, to wit:-

3. The learned trial Judge misdirected himself and came to a wrong conclusion when he accepted the evidence of PW1 (the only eye witness) to convict the deceased person in view of material contradictions in his evidence both oral and written.
4. The learned trial Judge erred in law when he found the Accused person guilty of murder when there was no medical evidence that the injury sustained by the deceased (the cause of death) was capable to being inflicted by the weapon allegedly used by the accused (i.e. a dagger).
5. The learned trial Judge erred in law when he wrongly applied the principles of six tests of confession laid down by the West African Court of Appeal in KALU V. THE KING 14 WACA PAGE 30 and admitted the statement credited to the accused person as a confession.
6. The learned trial Judge erred in law when he found the accused person guilty of the offence of murder without adequate consideration of the accused’s account of the incident that led to the death of the deceased which is more probable than the evidence of PW1 (the only eye witness).

(All particulars of error and misdirection were supplied)

As it is the practice in this court, parties filed and exchanged briefs of argument. In the Appellant’s brief of argument settled by G.I. Abibo Esq. four (4) Issues were distilled for the determination of the appeal, to wit:-

(a) Whether the evidence of the prosecution witnesses was cogent enough and beyond reasonable doubt to sustain the conviction of the accused person for murder in view of the material contradictions in the said evidence.

(b) Whether the conviction of the accused person for murder can be sustained in the absence of medical evidence as to the consistency of the act of stabbing, credited to the accused with the injury allegedly sustained by the deceased.

(c) Whether the written statement credited to the accused was rightly admitted as a confession and acted upon in view of the suspicious nature of the document.

(d) Whether defences put up by or that were open to the accused person were adequately considered by the trial Court.