ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (EFCC) v. WOLFGANG REINL
April 2, 2025CHIJIOKE UGWU v. THE STATE
April 2, 2025Legalpedia Citation: (2020) Legalpedia (SC) 13791
In the Supreme Court of Nigeria
HOLDEN AT ABUJA
Thu Jan 23, 2020
Suit Number: SC.405/2017
CORAM
M.E. OGUNDARE, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
PARTIES
JUDE ONWUZULIKE APPELLANTS
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The Appellant was charged before the High Court of Anambra State, sitting at Otuocha for the offence of kidnapping contrary to Section 315(l) (b) of the Criminal Code Law of Anambra State (as amended in 2009). He was tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the said offence. He appealed to the Court of Appeal, which reaffirmed the decision of the trial court. Further aggrieved, the Appellant has appealed to the Supreme Court. The Appellant filed his Notice of Appeal out of time and without leave of Court, rendering same incompetent; and having realized the incompetence, the Appellant sought to regularize same by filing an Amended Notice of Appeal.
HELD
Appeal Dismissed
ISSUES
Whether the Court below was right when it failed to expunge from the record the computer-generated evidence (Exhibits C and F3) on which the learned trial Court heavily relied to convict and sentence the Appellant for the offence of kidnapping when the admission of the said evidence ran contrary to the mandatory provisions of Section 84(4) of the Evidence Act, 2011 regarding computer generated evidence Whether the learned trial Judge was right in his approach, findings and conclusions reached on the evidence adduced at the trial by which he convicted the Appellant of the evidence of kidnapping?
RATIONES DECIDENDI
INCOMPETENT NOTICE OF APPEAL – WHETHER THE GRANT OF AN APPLICATION TO FILE ADDITIONAL GROUNDS OF APPEAL WOULD REGULARISE AN INCOMPETENT APPEAL
“My Lords, where the notice of appeal is defective and incompetent, the appeal ipso facto is incompetent: Olowokere V. African Newspapers Ltd (1993) 5 NWLR (pt. 295) 583 at 586. The mere fact that leave was granted, on 17 October 2019, to the Appellant to file and argue 18 additional grounds of appeal does not regularise this incompetent appeal. In Aderigbeye V. Abidoye (2009) LPELR – 140 (SC), citing with approval its previous decisions in Awohunawghi & Anor. V. Oteri & Ors. (1984) 5 SC 38 at 42 and Orakosim V. Menkiti (2001) 5 SCNJ 1 at 10, this Court re-stated the position of law on this unequivocally that if the original Notice of Appeal was defective, no additional grounds of appeal could be hung on it, in view of the fact that there being no appeal, in the first place, the additional ground will have no appeal to hang on. Tobi, JSC, at pages 26 – 27 stated in addition –
The noun “addition” means adding numbers together. The adjective “additional” involves the idea of joining or uniting one thing to another thereby forming an aggregate and so the thing in whole exists as an aggregate. Accordingly, one only add to an existing thing. One cannot add a non-existing thing. It is both a legal and factual impossibility. – This is because one can only add something to something. One cannot add something to nothing, (underlings supplied for emphasis)
See also Macfoy v. UAC Ltd (1961) 3 ALL E.R. 1169 where Lord Denning stated that one cannot place something upon nothing and expect it to stay.-
NOTICE OF APPEAL – STATUS OF AN INVALID NOTICE OF APPEAL
“In law the void and invalid Notice of Appeal is a non-existing thing. It follows therefore that the “Amended Notice of Appeal,” an attempt to add something to nothing, is, by reciprocity, also a nullity – being a futile attempt to regularise an incompetent appeal.
NOTICE OF APPEAL –NATURE OF A NOTICE OF APPEAL THAT ACTIVATES THE JURISDICTION OF AN APPELLATE COURT
“It is only a valid and or competent notice of appeal that activates the jurisdiction of an appellate Court. A notice of appeal, that is void ab initio, is invalid and incapable of activating the jurisdiction of an appellate Court. The law is settled that an appellate Court has the inherent jurisdiction to raise the issue of jurisdiction suo motu: Aderigbeye V. Abidoye (supra) at 27. I have done just exactly that here in this appeal”. –
NOTICE OF APPEAL – CONSEQUENCES OF AN ABSENCE OF A COMPETENT NOTICE OF APPEAL
“Now, the Notice [actually, a competent notice] of appeal is the foundational process that triggers off an appeal from a lower court to a higher court, Adelekan v. ECU-Line NV [2006] 12 NWLR (pt. 993) 33] Uwazurike v AG Federation [2007] All FWLR (pt 367) 834, 835, paragraphs E-F, and sustains it, Okotie v Olughor[mS\ 5 SCNJ 2171. As such, any virus in this process would, invariably, corrode or taint the entire appeal thereby rendering it incompetent, First Bank of Nigeria Plc v T. S. A. Ind Ltd (2010) LPELR -1283 (SC) 49, paragraphs A-D; Okeke Amadi v. Okeke Okoli[ 1977] 7 S C 57, 58; Adelekan v. ECU-Line NV [2006] 12 NWLR (pt. 993) 33; Okolo v UBN Ltd. [2004] 3 NWLR (pt. 859) 87; Ikwek V Ebele [2005] 11 NWLR (pt. 936) 397; Akpan v Bob [2010] 17 NWLR (pt. 1224) 421; General Electric Co. v Akande [2010] 18 NWLR (pt. 1225) 596; Thor v FCMB Ltd [2002] 2 SCNJ 85; Ebokam v Ekwenibe and Sons Trading Coy Ltd [W7] 7 SCNJ 77. The effect of such a viral corrosion is, usually, far-reaching as it nibbles at the jurisdiction of the appeal court which must, as of necessity, strike out such a process, A.G. Fed v. Guardian Newspapers Ltd [1999] (pt.618) 187; Odunze v Nwosu [2007] 13 NWLR (pt. 1050) 1; Agu v Odofin [1992] 3 SCNJ 161, 172 – 173; Ibeto v Aminu [2007] 5 NWLR (pt.1028) 446; Danmusa v Inuwa [2007] 17 NWLR (pt.1063) 391; Clev Josh Ltd. v Tokimi [2008] 13 NWLR (pt.1104) 422.
In effect, the absence of a competent Notice of Appeal, simply, translates to the non-existence of an appeal, Anadi v. Okoti [1972] 7 SC 57; CBN v. Okojie [2004] 10 NWLR (pt. 882) 488; Olanrewaju v. BON Ltd [1994] 8 NWLR (pt.364) 622; Olowokere v African Newspapers Ltd [1993] 5 NWLR (pt. 295) 583; Erisi v Mte [1987] 4 NWLR (pt. 66) 503; Jos/ah Cornelius Ltdv Ezenwa [1996] 37 LRCN 618; Tukur v Government of Gongola State [1988] 1 NWLR (pt. 68) 391; First Bank of Nig Plc v Maiwada (2012) LPELR -9713 (SC) 187. This must be so for it is a condition precedent to any valid exercise of appellate jurisdiction, Okeke Amadi v. Okeke Okoli (supra); Okotie v Olughor (supra)”.-
INCOMPETENT NOTICE OF APPEAL – EFFECT OF AN INCOMPETENT NOTICE OF APPEAL
“A Notice of Appeal is the originating process in an appeal. Once it is incompetent it remains so, and the court no longer has jurisdiction to hear the appeal. The appeal would be struck out for being incompetent. –
INCOMPETENT NOTICE OF APPEAL- STATUS OF ANY PROCESS LINKED TO AN INCOMPETENT NOTICE OF APPEAL
“Any process attendant to incompetent Notice of Appeal including Brief of Argument is equally in-competent. With the finding that the said original Notice of Appeal cannot in law be said to have existed, it follows that what is void, or non-existent in law cannot be validly amended. That being the case, I hold that the purported amended Notice of Appeal was an exercise in futility, and could not have “breathed life” into the fundamentally defective original Notice of Appeal. See Per ONNOGHEN, JSC in Co – Operative & Commerce Bank Plc & Anor V. Ekperi (2007} LPELR-576(SC)”. –
CASES CITED
Not Available
STATUTES REFERRED TO
Criminal Code Law of Anambra State (as amended in 2009)|Evidence Act, 2011|Supreme Court Act|
