CORAM
ADEMOLA, CHIEF JUSTICE, NIGERIA
TAYLOR, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
BAIRAMIAN, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
PARTIES
APPELLANTS
THE QUEEN
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
CRIMINAL LAW, JUDICIAL CORRUPTION
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The Appellant was a Grade B Customary Court President and was convicted on two counts of judicial corruption. The Appellant appealed against his conviction
HELD
The Court held that the evidence of the third prosecution witness could not be relied on and accordingly quashed the conviction of the appellant and ordered that a verdict of acquittal be entered on both counts.
ISSUES
Whether the evidence of the third prosecution witness was reliable and whether it should be accepted.
RATIONES DECIDENDI
EFFECT OF PROVIDING CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
“In the case of a witness who had made previous statetments inconsistent with the evidence given at the trial the Court has been slow to act on the evidence of such a witness”- ADEMOLA, C.J.N.
CASES CITED
1. Regina v. Golder [1960] 1 W.L.R. 1169 at p. 1172
2. R. v. Atkinson, 24 C.A.R. 123
STATUTES REFERRED TO
Western Nigeria Criminal Code.