Goodluck Oviefus V. The State (1984)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

KARIBI-WHYTE, J.S.C. 

On the 27th August 1984 when this appeal was argued, before us, I dismissed it and indicated that I shall give reasons for doing so today. This I now proceed to do.

The points raised in this appeal are by no means new. They have been decided in this Court in several cases even recently. A considered judgment became necessary when Mr. Akinrinsola, learned counsel for the appellant in his brief urged that on the law as he understands it, the defences of insanity and insane delusion were available to the appellant, and that on the facts of the case as found by the learned trial judge which the Court of Appeal accepted, these defences have not been properly considered.

Mr. Y.A Akande, the learned Director of Public Prosecutions, Oyo State did not share this view; and in his brief and also in argument before us, submitted that the defence of insanity was not on the facts available to the appellant and that both the trial court and the Court of Appeal were right in rejecting the defence relied upon by the appellant.

In my view two related issues arise for consideration in this appeal. These are-

(i) Whether on the facts the defence of insanity raised in the defence of the appellant was considered by the learned trial judge

(ii) Whether the defence of delusion also raised on the evidence was considered by the learned trial judge

In sum the elaborate arguments put up in the brief of counsel for the appellant and his submissions before us fall within the confines of the correct answers to these questions. The facts of this case are substantially undisputed. Appellant never denied that he killed his wife Agnes. What was feebly in issue at the trial was as to the circumstances of the appellant killing his wife whether appellant was normal at the time of the offence. For a clear understanding of the issues in this appeal it is necessary to state so much of the facts as are material, and the findings of facts made by the learned trial judge and accepted in the Court of Appeal.

On the 30th May 1980, appellant was convicted for the murder of his wife, contrary to s.254 and punishable under s.257(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 28 Volume 1, Laws of the former Western Region, (now applicable in Oyo State). His appeal to the Court of Appeal against his conviction was dismissed on the 21st April, 1983. He has now appealed to this Court. At the time of the commission of the offence, appellant was a soldier with the Engineering Construction Regiment of the Nigerian Army at Oshogbo. He lived at Ede with his wife Agnes at No. 14 Timi Street. Peter Adeyale Olympus was also living at the same address. On the 6th November, 1978, Peter Adeyale Olympus, PW2, at about 3.30 a.m. heard some noise of fighting by two people. He traced the noise to appellant’s room, and after appellant had failed to open the door on his entreaty, forced the door open and tried to separate appellant and his wife. He said that appellant was beating his wife. PW2 then shouted to call on co-tenants to come and help. Appellant ordered PW2 out of the room with the threat that he (appellant) would kill PW2 and Agnes if PW2 refused to leave. PW2 then ran to the soldiers barracks at Ede to report the incident. A military police officer was detailed to accompany PW2, but before they left the barracks they met appellant, who told them he wanted a car to take him to Iwo Town, where he would kill one woman and a soldier called Peter. Appellant was taken to the Brigade Commander PW6; where he reported that he (appellant) had just killed his wife. PW6 went to appellant’s house to verify the claim by appellant that he had killed his wife. Appellant was handed over to the police for custody and investigation of the offence. Appellant made a voluntary statement to the police on the day of the incident. This statement was recorded by Sgt. Akinoye, PW4 and was attested to by an Assistant Superintendent of Police J. Ajayi, on the 11th November, 1978. The statement of appellant which amounts to a confession of the murder of Agnes was tendered by the prosecution and admitted in evidence. The statement exhibit B is as follows –

“In 1975, I brought my wife Agnes Edafeteya from home with me to Ede, and for some months now I have been feeling some difficulties in my body. One certain night during this period, I dreamt in my residence where myself and my wife slept together that my wife Agnes has changed into a spirit and was pressing me down and I was struggling to get out of her but was unable, I was shouting in my dream but was not heard outside, I just woke up suddenly and I questioned her – Agnes why she was pressing me in a spiritual form She told me that it must be an outside enemy that was using herself to press me not herself personally that was doing so. This happened on several occasions and when I questioned her, she would say that she was not the one and that she could not lie for me. Later, I dreamt again, one night seeing my daughter called Endurance a small girl of about 3 years old sucking my blood. I then thought that my daughter was too small and that she could not do anything of such. I did not tell the mother – Agnes. I later dreamt another dream and saw one person whom I could not recognise and could not know whether he was a man or a woman told me in my dream that my heart has been divided and part of it has been given to him. Then about a week ago, I realised that my private part could not work again, this I tested when I asked my wife Agnes for sex and I could not sex her. When this ordeal was becoming too much for me. (sic) I was afraid of myself. Then I tried to find out the cause of these things. From there, I went to a certain man at Iddo Oshun who having prayed for me and gave me something to drink and asked me to be looking at what was worrying me in the water put in a bottle. I was just looking at the bottle like television and I saw one black object blocking my view not to see what I went for.

I then opened the man’s Psalm and started praying with the Psalm, I just saw an object which covered its face with cap and I was seeing its leg as that of a human being. I saw Ede written on the cap. As I prayed further, I then saw the object turned its back and the cap vanished and saw a woman’s plaited hair like that of my wife Agnes, I prayed further and I saw my wife in the bottle. I still saw myself being pressed down by a spirit on my bed when sleeping with my wife as I dreamt before and also woke up and asked my wife question which she denied and said it was the work of outside enemy.

I also saw that when myself and my wife Agnes slept, I saw her in spirit carrying me to a gathering and when the people saw me, they all shouted, that they have got the powerful man. I also saw that myself was tied up on a stick and they loose me and butchered me in pieces. I then saw that my wife Agnes shared my whole heart and my brothers at home named Solomon, Napoleon and Godspower shared part of my body and also one woman called Mama who lives at Iwo who always make native medicine for my wife shared some part of my body including one of our soldiers called Peter who went with my wife Agnes to that gathering shared out of my body. I also saw my daughter was (sic) also shared my head and private part. I also saw that my dead body was escorted home by soldiers from my regiment and was buried at my home town Isoko and also my brother (sic) who shared out of my body were seen weeping at the burial. I then started to pray for my wife to release my heart to me while looking at the bottle. She Agnes refused. I then left the house of that man. As I was going towards Ede, I felt cold with all those in my mind and I branched to a church nearby and prayed. As I left that church and was about to leave the church premises, I saw my wife Agnes and Peter a soldier following each other. Then Peter called me to come to him that both of them were looking for me, I frowned my face and told Peter that I was going to the barracks at Iddo Oshun. When I left the barracks I saw my wife with Peter coming from Iddo Oshun town, I then called my wife Agnes to follow me home, Peter told my wife not to follow me. Both Peter and my wife joined another motor while I took a vehicle to Ede. On my arrival at Ede I met Agnes at home and I asked my wife to give me some amount that I was still going back to Iddo Oshun. She refused. I later went back to Iddo Oshun and looked at the bottle with water in that man’s house again. I then started to look at the bottle and I begged my wife – Agnes and that Mama at Iwo to release my heart while praying at the bottle. They refused and I saw that they wrote in the bottle that they are powerful and that they could not release my heart anymore. I also saw some old faces who are already dead and I shook hands with them. By that time I felt cold then. I left home to Ede. When I got home, my wife Agnes opened door for me and I asked her to come into our room to sleep. She refused. I then went into the room. My heart was worrying me that I called my wife and I started fighting her when I felt that I have become useless both in body and in my job I then beat her to death, I held her breath and I knocked her head on the walls of the building, she also bite me on my two hands and I had some injuries there.

I also knocked the head of my daughter Endurance on the wall of the house, my wife had died before I ran to inform my officers at Ede. I did not tie Agnes legs, but she drew the nylon threads from the parlour where I was beating and knocking her head on the walls and verandah of the house at the upstairs where we live. It was myself who looked at the water in the bottle that showed me the light of what happened to me. At the time I knocked my daughter’s head on the walls of the house, I felt she was dead also until I learnt that she Endurance has been admitted for treatment at Oshogbo State Hospital. That is all.”

However, though not rejecting or denying exhibit B, his oral evidence in court was quite different. It was no longer a confession that he killed Agnes, but that he normally had bad dreams which frightened him when he woke from sleep. He said that on the date of the incident, as a result of his dreams he went to a man DW3, at Iddo-Oshun for treatment. The treatment enabled him to see in a bottle those who were fighting him in his dream. He was able to recognise his sisters, brothers and some women and soldiers. In his evidence he said, (at page 25 lines 1 – 4)