Eze Ibeh Vs The State (1997)

BELGORE, J.S.C. 

This is an appeal against decision of the Court of Appeal upholding the conviction of the appellant for the murder of two brothers called Dawodu brothers. He was sentenced to death by the trial High Court of Lagos State on 23rd February, 1989.

The appellant, a policeman attached to Mobile Unit had, on 17th November, 1987, arrested a taxi driver, Clement Alumona, for some contravention and took him to Adeniji Adele Police Station on Lagos Island. The alleged offence by the taxi driver was at the Mainland. The appellant was accompanied by his colleague in the Mobile Unit P.W. 10, James Onabrakpeya. While reporting the case at Adeniji Adele Police Station, P.W.7, Sebastine Duru, who was a traffic warden, rushed in to alert the police that his colleague, with whom he was on duty at Idumagbo Road junction, was being beaten up by a mob.

The traffic warden under attack is P.W.11, Omogo Ogali. As the P.W.7 was reporting, another person, a civilian this time came to lodge a similar complaint – however, this civilian was never called as a witness and his name was never given; but it was on record that he urged the police to act with immediate dispatch. Michael Omochi, P.W.5, a non-commissioned officer detailed P.W.6, Cpl Ogunmola, to accompany P.W.7 to the scene. One wonders what prompted this inadequate reaction to a serious report of mob-action. However as P.W.6 was going to the scene, the appellant and P.W.10 joined him in the Mercedes Benz saloon brought by the civilian who came to lodge the report. They all got to the scene at Idumagbo Road junction.

At the scene, there was a large crowd in the middle of which were P.W.11, Omogo Ogali, and the driver of a Volvo Saloon. P.W.11 was held by the crowd and P.W.7 in company of two other policemen went to rescue P.W.11; the appellant went into a different direction. In the middle of the crowd and the attendant commotion, there were two or more rapid gun shots. At this, the crowd started dispersing as everybody ran for cover. The gun shots were from the rifle of the appellant. Another witness reported the gun shots differently: there was a first gun shot followed by two other gun shots, making three gun shots in all. Everybody ran for their life including P.W.6, P.W.10 and the traffic warden who went to the scene with the appellant. P.W.7.

When everybody had deserted the scene the dead bodies of Saka and Sule Dawodu, two brothers, were on the ground. P.W.6 went to report at Adeniji Adele Police Station and in his trail a few minutes later was the appellant. Shortly after, a crowd arrived at the station with the corpses shouting that these were the people shot and killed by the appellant. P.W.6, P.W.7 and P.W.10 in their evidence said they heard the gun shots but that they never knew from which gun and who fired them. P.W.12 (Buari Liasu), P.W.14 (Karimu Alabi) and P.W.15 (Alhaji Yakubu Alao) said they saw the appellant shoot the two brothers. The summary of each of these three civilian witnesses is that on the fateful day they heard some commotion and saw these traffic wardens arguing with a man driving a Volvo car. A crowd gathered round the scene and after a while one of the two traffic wardens who had left the scene returned later with two mobile policemen, one of whom is the appellant, the two carried rifles. The appellant dragged Sule Dawodu (deceased) from where he stood and held him by the trousers. Later, Saka Dawodu, Sule’s brother arrived and was pleading that Sule be released. The appellant warned Saka not to interfere and as Saka was moving away he was shot twice in the back. He fell. A moment later a shot rang out again from the appellant’s rifle and hit Sule. The two brothers died. All these allegedly occurred with the crowd still in place. The three witnesses said the policemen and the traffic wardens pleaded with the appellant to no avail. These three witnesses were prosecution witnesses. The evidence of the other prosecution witnesses at the scene is interesting. P.W.10, Cpl James Onabrakpeya, got to the scene in the Mercedes saloon of the civilian that went to alert the police station. On alighting at the scene, he saw a Volvo car “surrounded by a large crowd” and fighting was going on.

It was when he got to the Volvo car that he heard a shot ring out at which he took to his heels together with Cpl. Ogunmola (P.W.6). Similarly P.W.6 got to the scene with P.W.10 and saw a large crowd in the middle of which was a Volvo car. As he was asking the driver of the car some questions he heard a shot ring out. Looking back he saw the appellant waving his gun and he went back to the police station. On his way to the station he heard two other gun shots; he however admitted in cross-examination that he never recorded in his statement at the station that he heard two other shots. P.W.6 and P.W.10 – ran away on hearing the shots from the gun. The scene, Anikantamo market, is just ten minutes walk to Adeniji Adele Police Station. He admitted that in his statement at the station he wrote that he “tried to calm the situation”, however by his evidence in chief he omitted this and presented an air of someone not running away from the scene. In cross-examination his so-called attempt to calm the situation was to talk to the Volvo driver and the traffic warden.

The P.W.11, Omogo Ogali, the traffic warden at the centre of the incident leading to the appellant and others running to the scene, had this to say among others:

“I remember 17th November 1987. I was attached to Central Police Station Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos on that day. My hours of duty were 6 a.m. to 2. p.m. On 17/11/87 I was posted on duty at Idumagbo junction Lagos with another Traffic Warden named Sebastian Duru.

On that day i.e. 17/11/87 at about 12.45 p.m. I contravened a Volvo car registration number LA 16 AN for flouting the Lagos State Edict on odd and even number arrangements. I told the driver of the Volvo car to follow me to the station. He refused to do so. He then drove his car dangerously towards me wanting to knock me down. I jumped on the car’s bonnet and the driver drove the car with me on the bonnet to Anikantamo Street, Lagos. The distance between where I contravened the car and from where he drove with me on the bonnet to Anikantamo Street is about the distance between the road at the back of this court to the road in front of it (i.e. between Tafawa Balewa Square and Igbosere Road, Lagos – Court puts this distance at about 100 metres).

At Anikantamo Street the driver stopped the car, came out of the car started shouting “Ole, Ole” (thief, thief), and he started beating me. Some people came round and joined the driver in beating me. They tore my uniform. Sebastian Duru who was on duty with me came along and when he saw what was happening to me he quickly ran to the Police Station to lodge a report. He brought along some policemen whom I do not know. Shortly after this, I heard the sound of gun shot. I then became unconscious and I did not know what was happening. After a while, I recovered and I went to the police station.

The people had stopped beating me when the policemen came. I was unconscious hence I did not know what was happening after a while. I do not know whether or not the people molested the policemen when they came.

I did not know the accused person until after the incident when I was told certain things at the police station.

From the Police Station I was taken to the Police Clinic at Falomo where I was admitted for one night. I was brought from Falomo to go and write a statement at Adeniji Adele.

Cross-Examined by Mrs. Ofulue: I did not see Sebastian Duru when he came back to the scene at Anikantamo Street. I did not see him when he came back with the policemen. I sustained injury in my mouth when the people were beating me. Apart from the driver of the Volvo car, I cannot recognise any of the members of the public who joined the driver in beating me.