CORAM
ADEMOLA CHIEF JUSTICE, NIGERIA
ONYEAMA JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
COKER JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
PARTIES
ISAAC J. A. BORO AND ORS
APPELLANTS
THE REPUBLIC
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
CRIMINAL LAW-TREASON- PROOF-CONVICTION
SUMMARY OF FACTS
On 21st June, 1966, in the High Court at Port Harcourt, Eastern Nigeria, Phil-Ebosie, J., convicted the appellants of treason and sentenced them to death, and from that conviction they have appealed.
HELD
That not only was the levying of war proved but also the evidence established an intent to overawe the Head of the Federal Military Government when interpreted as the embodiment of the State
ISSUES
Whether the trial Court rightly convicted the appellants having regard to the evidence before it?
RATIONES DECIDENDI
TREASON
The two ingredients necessary to prove the charge under section 37(1) of the CriminalCode, namely-
(1) That the accused persons levied war, and
(2) That they did so to intimidate or overawe The Head of State.-Per Ademola,JSC
CASES CITED
Mir Hasan Khan v. The State (1951) A.J.R. (Patna) 60
STATUTES REFERRED TO
The Criminal Code
The Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree, No. 1 of 1966