Sani Abudullahi & Ors. V. State (2013)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

MUSA DATTIJO MUHAMMAD, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, affirming the judgment of the Niger State High Court convicting and sentencing the appellant for offences contrary to Sections 265, 283 read together with Sections 79 and 294 of the Penal Code. It pertinent to state that the appellant, Sani Abdullahi, was tried, convicted and sentenced by the latter court, hereinafter referred to as the trial court, along with the others: Abdullahi Black and Hussaini Danjuma. Dissatisfied, all the three appealed to the former court, hereinafter referred to as the court below, whereat their appeals were dismissed.

They have further appealed to this Court by their individual notices raising similar issues in their briefs of arguments for the determination of their respective appeals. This judgment relates to the three appeals: SC.247/2010, SC.247A/2010 and SC.247B/2010 filed by Sani Abdullahi, Abdullahi Black and Hussaini Danjuma respectively.

The facts of the case are brief and shall be told at once. The respondent’s case is that the three appellants, on or about the 31st May, 2006 at about 1:00 am at Suleja, posing as policemen, carried away one Binta Garba from the room of her boyfriend at Bakin Kasuwa to Yangonon area of Suleja town and, against her consent, individually had sexual intercourse with her.

Binta Garba’s boy friend, Abubakar Isah, testified as PW1 at the trial court. He reported the incident to the Emir of Suleja and subsequently to the “A” Division police station, Suleja. When brought back to his house by the appellants, Binta, he told the court, looked upset. Pursuant to the report lodged with the police, so many arrests were made from which multitude the witness identified the appellants.

It is PW1’s further evidence that the appellants came to his house twice on the fateful date. They inflicted some injury on and extorted the sum of six hundred Naira from him as well. He remained unshaken under cross-examination.

PW2, Bala Ibrahim, a corporal attached to “A” Division Police Station Suleja was, on 1st June, 2006 detailed to investigate the case reported by PW1. Two of the appellants had already been arrested then. The 3rd appellant was later taken to the police station by his parents. PW2 it was, who obtained statements from the appellants. The appellants, he asserted, voluntarily gave him their statements which statements counsel objected to their being admitted on the grounds that the appellants did not make them. In overruling the objection and admitting the statements, the trial court at page 28 of the record of appeal held thus:-

“Court: The claim that the accused persons did not make confessional statements is not a ground not to admit the statements in evidence. The statements of 1st, 2nd and 3rd accused persons are also admitted to exhibits “3”, “4”, “5” and “6” respectively.”

Respondent’s efforts to make Binta Garba testify having yielded no result, the trial court forced it to close its case.

The appellants gave evidence on their own behalf. The case of Sani Abdullahi and Abdullahi Black, the appellants in appeals Nos. SC.247/2010 and SC.247A/2010 is that on the 31st May, 2006 shouts of their neighbours woke them up from sleep. The two were sleeping in Sani Abdullahi’s room. They decided to find out what was behind the shouts. Not far from PW1’s house, they met some people and on enquiry they were informed that some people wanted to rape a girl. The incident, they told the court, took place around 12 midnight. They also told the court that they saw the appellant in appeal No. SC.247B/2010 at the scene. Along with the said appellant, they pleaded with the people intent on raping the girl to spare her. They however left the appellant behind at the same scene only to be arrested the following day for raping the very girl they urged others not to rape.

After their arrest, PW2 recorded the statements of the appellants in all the three appeals. They were later arraigned.

The 3rd appellant, Hussaini Danjuma was also attracted by some noise in front of his residence and on approaching the scene he discovered that a girl had been arrested by some men. He pleaded that the men left the girl alone and in PW1’s presence departed and went back home. It is his case also that he was arrested the next day.

At the end of trial, the trial court held in respect of the 1st head of charge at page 40 of the record as follows:-

“In view of the foregoing I find each of the accused persons guilty of attempt to commit rape punishable under S.283 of the Penal Code reads along with Section 95 of the same code as provided under Section 219 of the CPC and I convict them accordingly. ”