Okputuobiode & Ors V. The State (1970)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

FATAYI-WILLIAMS, J.S.C. 

On 7th July, 1969, the appellants were convicted in the Ughelli High Court by Prest J. in charge No. UHC/IC/69 containing two counts of burglary, ten counts of arson, and six counts of stealing.

Originally ten persons were charged with these offences, but learned trial judge, after considering the evidence against each accused person in respect of each count and their respective testimony in defence, discharged the 5th, 7th and 10th accused persons after finding in his judgement as follows::-

“On the defence of alibi put forward by the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 10th accused, I am satisfied with the defence of alibi of the 5th, 7th and 10th accused. I find them not guilty on all the counts and they are acquitted and discharged.”

The facts which are relatively straightforward may be stated briefly as follows. All the complainants, who later testified as witnesses for the prosecution, reside either in Bethany-Ehao village or in Sapele-Ehao village (both villages being in Enwhe) while all the accused persons are from Ovwodokpokpo village. All the three villages are near Ughelli in the Mid-West State.

Bethany-Ehao village is on the outskirts of Ovwodokpokpo village and stretches, according to the trial judges’s notes, for about three quarters of a mile. Sapele-Ehao village is close to Bethany-Ehao village. In February 1967, the people of Ovwodokpokpo village sued those of Bethany-Ehao village for declaration of title to a piece of land at Ahoro.

The Bethany-Ehao people later counter-claimed in respect of the same land. While both claims were still pending, a group of people from Ovwodokpokpo village, on 19th August, 1967 raided the neighbouring villages of Bethany-Ehao and Sapele-Ehao, looted their property and set their houses on fire. Forty-six houses were thus destroyed at Bethany-Ehao and nine at Sapele-Ehao. The Bethany-Ehao village hall was also set on fire and destroyed.

Among those who raided the two villages on that day were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th accused persons who are now the appellants in this court. At the trial, all the accused persons, including the present appellants, denied the charge. With the exception of the 3rd, 4th and 6th accused persons who said they were at home at Ovwodokpokpo village on the day of the incident and the 8th accused who did not say where he was, all the others said they were elsewhere.

All the ten accused persons stated further that the people of Bethany-Ehao and Sapele-Ehao village had come to court to lie against them because of the land dispute.

In the course of his judgement, the learned trial judge referred to the evi-dence regarding the identification of the accused persons as follows:-
“Thus the 1st accused was identified twice, the 2nd accused three times, the 3rd accused four times, the 5th accused twice, the 6th accused twice, the 7th accused once, the 8th accused twice, the 9th accused four times and the 10th accused once.”

As a matter of fact, the evidence which the learned trial judge accepted showed that the 4th accused, who said he was at his farm at Ovwodokpokpo on the day in question and who was omitted from the above exercise, was also identified four times (that is, by 1st, 2nd, 5th and 8th P.Ws).

Be that as it may, the learned trial judge, after giving due consideration to the defence put forward by each accused, acquitted and discharged the 5th, 7th and 10th accused persons as earlier referred to in this judgement. With respect to the case against the remaining seven accused persons (now the appellants), the learned trail judge indicated that he was “not satisfied” with the defence of alibi put forward by the 1st, 2nd and 9th accused. He then found these three accused persons as well as the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th guilty as charged after finding finally as follows:-

“I am satisfied on the totality of the evidence that the prosecution has proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th accused persons on all the counts as charged.I believe the evidence of the witnesses for the prosecution. They impressed me as witnesses of truth, particularly the evidence of Mami Agari, P.W.6….

I reject the evidence of the accused persons. I do not believe that this charge has been brought against them because of the land dispute nor do I believe that they have been selected for prosecution because they are prominent leaders in the community. The 8th accused said he was the “live-wire” behind the case they instituted against the Bethany people.