Sule Ahmed (Alias Eza) V. The State (2001)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

AYOOLA, J.S.C. 

The appellant, Sule Ahmed (Alias Eza) was on 1st August 1997 convicted by Ajanah, J. sitting at the Okene Division of the High Court of Kogi State of the offence of Culpable Homicide punishable with death under section 221 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to death by hanging. His appeal to the Court of Appeal from his conviction was dismissed by that court on 26th October, 1999. He has now appealed to this court from the decision of the Court of Appeal.

The charge against the appellant was that on or about 31st day of March 1996 at Idogido Area, Okene, in Okene Local Government Area he committed culpable homicide punishable with death in that he caused the death of Momoh Jimoh Isiaka by “firing a gun at his head with the intention of causing his death”. By section 220 of the Penal Code the offence of culpable homicide is committed where a person causes death.

“(a) by doing an act with the intention of causing death or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death; or

(b) by doing an act with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death; or

(c) by doing a rash or negligent act,”

Where a person is charged with an offence of culpable homicide the sequence of inquiry is whether the person alleged to be killed is dead; the cause of his death and whether any act of the accused person as described in section 220 (a) – (c) is the cause of death.

This was not exactly the sequence adopted by the trial judge who proceeded on the footing that “the sequence of the ingredients of the offence was:

1. That the death of a human being has occurred
2. That the accused Person caused the death of that human being
3. That the accused intentionally caused the said death or had reason to know that death will be the likely and not the Probable consequence of the act.”

In a charge of culpable homicide if the cause of death has not been proved it is futile and illogical to proceed to consider whether it was the accused who caused the death. The primary enquiry into the cause of death of a person is an enquiry into the biological cause of death. The question at that stage is what caused the death and not who. When what caused the death has been ascertained the question who caused the death is one of causal connection between the act of the accused and the biological cause of death.

In this case the facts as found by the trial Judge and confirmed by the Court of Appeal are clearly stated in the leading judgment of the court below, delivered by Musdapher, JCA as follows:-

“On the 31st day of March, 1996, the “Ebe” Festival was held at Okene town. The Festival involved two rival masquerades of Avokuta and Arijenu. The festivities ended at 7.30 am on that day. Both masquerades enjoyed rival supporters. At the termination of the Festival, the supporters of Avokuta masquerade were escorting them out of the Venue at Idogida quarters, when the Arijenu rival supporters pursued them and attacked them, with guns. The appellant was identified by the prosecution witnesses as the one who was leading the attackers and was seen when he shot the deceased on the head. The deceased was later taken to the hospital where he died three days later. Out of the six prosecution witnesses five of them claimed to have seen the appellant firing his gun at and hitting the deceased on his head.”

The appellant, as rightly noted in the said leading judgment, denied shooting the deceased and claimed that he left the venue of the festival earlier and took a different route to his compound.

The Court of Appeal showed no difficulty in confirming the finding of fact made by the trial Judge that the deceased was dead.

In the leading judgment of the court Musdapher, JCA in relation to the death of Jimoh Isiaka said: