Raphael Okechukwu Ariche V. The State (1993)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

BELGORE, J.S.C.

On the 3rd day of August 1985, the appellant picked Apolonia Onyeanwu in his car of Peugeot 504 Saloon make, registration number LA 5730 MG and they were heading for Lagos via Onitsha – Asaba – Umunede – Benin road.

The starting point was Onweku village Ogbaku Owerri in Imo State, and they certainly left for Lagos after 9a.m. according to the evidence of the appellant in the witness box at trial court. The lady (i.e. Miss Apolonia Onyeanwu – hereinafter referred to as “the deceased”), requested after 9 a.m. to be taken back home to pick something she forgot. They then called at the Fuel Filling Facility to take petrol. They passed through Onitsha to Asaba where they stopped for the deceased to eat. They proceeded to Umunede where the deceased bought some yams her mother gave her money to purchase. Already in the car from the starting point were a bag of gari, some pears, sum of N3,000.00 in the glove compartment, cobs of corn and a jerry can half full of palm wine. The appellant never gave details of the various times they arrived in each place up to Benin City where they topped up the fuel in the car.

Proceeding on the Benin – Lagos road on the expressway at about 18 miles west of Benin City at Ovia River bridge, the appellant alleged that in an attempt to overtake a stationary accident vehicle at the entrance to the bridge, a vehicle hit him from the back, and his vehicle, with him and the deceased inside, were thrown into the river. The appellant’s story of this accident is as varied as the number of statements he made. The consistent strant in his statement is that a fisherman finally rescued him from the river and that he arranged to take him to the road and put him in a vehicle to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital where he was treated, but whose record of the treatment was not in evidence in court. He however ended up in a private hospital where he was treated for bruises on the face and neck. His first statement to the Police was on 5th August, 1985 and it was a brief one as follows:

“I was coming from Owerri going to Lagos with Miss Apolonia Onyeanwu. Two of us were only occupants of my car 504 GR A/C LA 5730 MG.

At the edge of OVIA RIVER Bridge I saw a broken down vehicle and I slowed down in order to avoid the said vehicle at that juncture another vehicle hit my car from behind and forced my car (LA 5730 MG) into the River.

I manage to escape with the help of a fisherman after swimming for about twenty minutes, the other occupant could not escape and she is still inside the car under the RIVER.

The fisher man with the help of a UTC lorry driver took me to UBTH where I was first treated before my Company Branch Manager at Benin brought me to this Hospital ‘Bennoni Hospital’ for further treatment with the help of my brother in-laws Dr. & MRS. F.G.A. OGBE.

I can not recollect the car that hit me all I know was that a car hit me from behind and we went into the river.”

(Sgd) R.O. ARICHE

However, on 13th August 1985, about a week after the first statement, he made another voluntary statement as follows:

“I have made statement earlier on this accident to the Police on my hospital bed at Bennoni Hospital Benin City. However, I would like to say as follows in addition to my former statement:-

On the 4th Sunday 1985 I was travelling from Ogbaku in Owerri to Lagos in the company of Miss Apolonia Onyeanwu we were both travelling in my car LA 5730 MG while I am the driver of the same car.

The parents of the said Miss Apolonia Onyeanwu and my own parents are family friends and in fact her parents are my parents sponsor for my parents Church Marriage. In the other hand myself and the uncle of Apolonia Onyeanwu i.e. Mr. Malachy Nwaiwu are friends and members of the same social club and at the same time Miss Apolonia Onyeanwu is friendly to me. A week to the accident I collected an application for employment from her which I submitted for her.