Esievure Ebigide Vs The State (1972)

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A. FATAYI-WILLIAMS, JSC. 

When we dismissed this appeal at the hearing on 6th January, 1972, we indicated that we would later give our reasons for doing so. We now give these reasons.

The appellant was charged in the High Court, Ughelli, in the Mid-Western State, with the murder of Ahwevwievu Ebigide, his wife at Igbuku Village on or about the 7th day of January, 1970. He was tried by Ogbobine, J., convicted of the offence as charged and sentenced to death. This appeal was against that judgment.

According to the prosecution, the appellant, three months before the death of Ahwevwievu Ebigide, complained to one Osadeka (2nd P/W) a member of the appellant’s family that Ahwevwievu refused to have sexual intercourse with him. Ahwevwievu denied the allegation and the dispute was later settled at a meeting of the members of the family. While she was asleep one night in December, 1969, one Assai Ubienu, a sister of the appellant who lived in the same house as the appellant and Ahevwievu but in a different room was woken up by an alarm raised by Ahwevwievu.

Assai Ubienu then got up and went to the room of the appellant where the alarm came from. The door of the room was open. Assai Ubienu looked inside the room and saw Ahwevwievu lying on the floor in a pool of blood with matchet cuts on her stomach and her intestines protruding. Ubienu then called Osadeka ( 2nd P.W) and one Stephen who both came into the room as a result. Osadeka found Ahwevwievu on the floor of the room screaming. She was in terrible agony. With their help, Assai Ubienu tied up her wounds with a piece of cloth and then arranged for a car in which they conveyed her to the Baptist Hospital at Eku. The 2nd P.W. stayed with her in the hospital after she had been admitted for treatment.

PAGE| 2 Meanwhile, a report was made to the Police at Ughelli. As a result of the information which they received, the police organised a search for the appellant who had by then fled from the village. The villagers who all joined in the search found the appellant in the bush three days later and brought him back to the village. On being informed about the apprehension of the appellant, P.C. Itetegbe (5th P.W.) and P.C. Moses Ogu (6th P.W.) went back to the village where they arrested the appellant. After the arrest, the appellant was first taken to the General Hospital at Eku where the two policemen interviewed Ahwevwievu and then to the Ughelli Police Station where he was charged with wounding her.

After he had been cautioned, the appellant made a confessional statement to the police in writing. The statement (Ex. “D”) reads:- “The late Ahwevwievu was my wife, I was living in the same house with her at Igbuku village. She had five children for me. Before I matchted her on the night of 21/12/69, I got an information that she was having sex with my relation by name Ikama.

I became annoyed because of this information. I escaped into the bush on the day in question when I suspected that my wife might have died. On 24/12/69, when I came out of the bush I was arrested by my people who told me that my wife was not dead yet. The policemen who came to Igbuku to arrest me took me along to Eku Baptist Hospital where I found my wife in bed with matchet wounds.” On 7th January, 1970, P.C. Itetegbe was informed that Ahwevwievu had died in the hospital. After confirming this information at the hospital, P.C. Itetegbe charged the appellant again this time with murder of Ahwevwievu.

On being cautioned with respect to this new charge, the appellant made another written statement (Ex. “E”) in which he confirmed the contents of his first statement made on 24th December, 1969, (Ex. “D1”). Dr. Abels (1st P/W) who treated Ahwevwievu after she had been admitted into the hospital at Eku and who performed the post mortem examination on her body after she had died testified that she was admitted into the hospital with several stabs wounds on her abdomen and that as a result the abdomen had become infected. Although the abdomen was cleaned out and the perforation repaired and sewn, she died of the infection on 7th January, 1970.

PAGE| 3 In his defence on oath, the appellant retracted the confession which he had earlier made in his written statement to the Police. He also denied inflicting the fatal injuries on Ahwevwievu, and testified that he was at Kokori town which was about fifteen miles from their village at the time of the attack on her. It was when he returned from Kokori that he learnt of the attack which resulted in the injuries from which she died.

He denied making any complaint to the family that Ahwevwievu was denying him sex. After giving the evidence adduced by both the prosecution and the appellant detailed and careful consideration, the learned trial Judge, rightly in our view, rejected the defence put forward by the appellant and found as follows- “I also find as a fact that it was the accused who inflicted the matchet cuts which led to the death of the deceased. I accept the evidence of P.W.2, P.W.3, and Ossai Ubienu (Ex.”F”) and reject the defence. The defence of alibi raised by the accused has no substance and I also reject it.

It is clear from the evidence that the motive for the murder was the accused’s suspicion that the deceased was having illicit affairs with P.W.3. There is not enough evidence of provocation and I cannot accept the view that a killing is excusable on the ground of mere suspicion of adultery. I find no substance in the entire defence and I reject the case presented before me by the accused.”

Before us on appeal, the learned counsel for the appellant had nothing to urge in his favour. As we also saw no reason to interfere with the Judgment, we dismissed the appeal.

Other Citation: (1972) LCN/1629(SC)