Benson Ihonre V. The State (1987)

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OPUTA, J.S.C.

On the 6th day of October, 1987, the Court heard this appeal and found that it had no merit whatsoever. In fact learned counsel for the Appellant, Mr. Shola Rhodes, as well as learned Senior State Counsel for the Respondent, Mr. Ayodeji Alufohai each filed a Brief and each had nothing useful to urge in favour of the Appellant. They were perfectly right. I too found no merit in the appeal and accordingly dismissed same and indicated that I will give my reasons for the dismissal on the 11th day of December 1987. Hereunder are those reasons.

The Appellant was convicted by Edokpayi, J., (sitting at the Ekpoma Judicial Division of the Bcndel State High Court) of the murder of the following persons:-

(a) Ibhahikho Aireguamen a woman of 67 years of age

(b) Wilson Aigbogun a child of 2 years

(c) Dorothy Aigbogun another child aged 3 1/2 years.

(d) Egbahimere Daniel aged 3 years.

It is relevant here to note that all the children murdered were all grand-children of the first victim of this murderous rampage.

The Appellant did not deny killing all his victims. He owned up the actus reus of each murder both in his extra judicial Statement to the Police and in his sworn testimony in open Court. He was thus a self-confessed murderer. Why then did he kill his victims In his confessional Statement to the Police, tendered as EX.A he gave the reasons as follows:-

“I believe that Ibhahikho Aigbogun, Jona Aigbogun and Daniel were the people who injured me with their witchcraft. Because they have confessed that they were the people who killed my junior brother Francis Ihonre in 1982. That is why I decided to kill Ibhahikho Aigbogun (f), Wilson Aigbogun (m), Dorothy Aigbogun (f) and Ebehimere Daniel (f) because it was Ibhahikho Aigbogun, Jona Aigbogun and Daniel that brought the whole trouble to the three children killed. I know that to kill is bad, but in this case I was frustrated. That is all” (the Italics is mine).

The Appellant adopted the above Statement during his testimony in open Court. The defence of the Appellant was obviously one based on his belief in witchcraft. In these Reasons for Judgment I merely want to look at how our Courts have regarded such a defence in order to discover whether there could be any rationalisation of the approach to and treatment of, a defence based on witchcraft and then apply that to the facts and surrounding circumstances of this case.

In his own judgment at p.37 of the record, the trial judge, Edokpayi, J. Observed:-

“The reasons given by the Accused person for killing the four persons are that they bewitched his late brother and that they were causing his own sickness and downfall by witchcraft. This belief based on witchcraft is not a defence available to the Accused person in view of the decisions in the following cases:

(i) Muyibi Oshinnaike v. The State (1984) 10 S.C. 89 at pp.9091.