Rex V. Amusa Adigun (1942)

LawGlobal Hub Judgment Report – West African Court of Appeal

Criminal Law—Shopbreaking and stealing—Separate sentences.

The appellant was convicted and sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment hard labour on a charge of shopbreaking and two years’ imprisonment hard labour on a charge of stealing, concurrently, the charges being combined in one count.

Held : It was wrong to pass two overate sentences upon one count even though concurrent. Sentence of two years’ I.H.L. for stealing is set aside.

.11 ckinstry for Crown.

Appellant in person.

The following joint judgment was delivered :—

KINGDON, C.J., NIGERIA, BUTLER LLOYD, AND
FRANCIS, JJ.

In this case the appellant was charged at the Lagos Assizes upon one count with Shopbreaking and Stealing. He was convicted and sentenced to serve a term of five years imprisonment hard labour, on the first charge of Shopbreaking and two years imprisonment hard labour on the second charge of Stealing; the sentences to run concurrently but consecutively to any sentence he might then have been serving.

We are of opinion that it was wrong to pass two separate sentences upon one count even though concurrent. The sentence of two years imprisonment hard labour, passed on the charge of Stealing is accordingly set aside, but the sentence of five years imprisonment hard labour passed on the charge of Shopbreaking to run consecutively with any sentence which the appellant may have been serving at the time it was passed stands good.