Karimu Yesufu & Ors Vs The State (1972)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

COKER. J.S.C.

The appellants were charged with and tried on two counts of murder and robbery with violence before the High Court, Lagos. They were tried by Adefarasin, J., with a jury of 12 which, at the end of the trial, returned a unanimous verdict of guilty on all the appellants on both counts of the Information.

They were accordingly convicted and sentenced; as to the count of murder, to death, and, as to the count of robbery with violence, to imprisonment for life. The Information alleges that on or about the 4th day of March, 1968, at Ebute-Metta, the appellants robbed Comfort Modupe Okusi of the sum of £400 in cash, gold jewelry valued at £200 and that in the course of the robbery they murdered Samuel Ogunmola. When the appellants were arraigned before the court and the Information read and explained to them, the court was treated to a drama which the learned trial Judge described in his notes as follows:

“The 1st, 3rd and 5th accused persons have pleaded not guilty on the 1st and 2nd counts of the charge. The 2nd and 4th accused persons are mute. Apart from this each of them just moves about and behaves peculiarly in the dock. There will have to be an inquiry into this.”

Pursuant to this, the issue as to the sanity of the 2nd and 4th appellants was then separately tried before the jury. Evidence was given on behalf of the prosecution by prison warders who attended the appellants and by the specialist/psychiatrist who also examined them.

The jury returned verdicts to the effect that these applicants were sane and were only mute of malice and not by the visitation of God. Thereupon the case of the appellants started and eventually went to conclusion. At their trial, evidence, which was apparently accepted by the jury, was given to the effect that on the day in question some of the appellants, i.e. the 1st, 2nd and the 5th, hired a Volkswagen ‘bus belonging to one Salawu Ajao (3rd P.W.) and that they proceeded to the house occupied by Comfort Modupe Okusi at 96, Ondo Street, Ebute-Metta, at about 6.10 a.m. On reaching there, she was standing at the window of her house and the 5th appellant went up to her and asked her to change a five-pound note which he held. She told him she had no change and as she said this about twelve men came out of the Volkswagen bus and the 5th appellant commanded them thus – “Start operation!”.

At this point, the men, including all the appellants, pulled down the door of her apartment, the 5th appellant pointed a gun at her and ordered her not to resist them then gave her a really good and traumatic beating until she fell down unconscious. She was eventually carried away for medical treatment after the end of the exercise. Her room was pillaged and burgled by the appellants and their confederates. There was also evidence before the jury that whilst the “operation in the room of Comfort Modupe Okusi was going on, one of the appellants or their confederates shouted and boasted around the area that anyone who dared come out would be shot and killed.

It was also given in evidence that soon thereafter Samuel Ogunmola, an inmate of the house, No.96, Ondo Street, Ebute-Metta, who had come out, was shot and killed by one of the appellants or their confederates. The learned trial Judge most carefully summed up the case to the jury. Only the 1st appellant gave evidence in his defence and the sum total of his evidence is that he was not amongst the gang who raided No.96, Ondo Street, Ebute-Metta on the day in question and that he neither robbed Mrs. Okusi nor was he in complicity with others who had killed PAGE| 3 Samuel Ogunmola.

As stated before, the 2nd and 4th appellants stood throughout the trial mute of malice and the submission of no case made by learned counsel on behalf of the 3rd and the 5th appellant was over-ruled by the learned trial Judge. After the summing-up, the jury retired for about one hour and returned unanimous verdicts of guilty on both counts on all the appellants. These appeals were from the conviction of the appellants. Learned counsel assigned to argue their appeals was before us unable to find any point which he could usefully urge in favour of the appellants and he said so.

The summing-up which commenced at about 11 a.m. and ended at 1.42 p.m., admirably covered all aspects of the case and spot-lighted the material facts in their entirety. The jury undoubtedly concluded that this was a case of premedicated murder very carefully designed and planned and most ruthlessly executed. The deceased, Samuel Ogunmola, was killed in cold blood without a chance of even ascertaining why the appellants and their confederates had broken into the privacy of his home. The appeals are completely without substance and so we dismissed them summarily at the hearing and these are our reasons for doing so.

Other Citation: (1972) LCN/1254(SC)