CORAM

---

uwani musa abba aji JSC

Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju JSC

stephen jonah adah JSC

abubakar sadiq umar JSC

mohammed baba idris JSC

---

PARTIES

---

TOPE ADESOYE

APPELLANTS 

---

THE STATE

RESPONDENTS 

---

AREA(S) OF LAW

---

---

SUMMARY OF FACTS

The Appellant was charged with a three-count indictment before the High Court in Ilorin for conspiracy and armed robbery. According to evidence, on September 5, 2014, the Appellant and two others, armed with guns, robbed the Ogundipe family at their home in Omu-Aran, Kwara State. They tied up victims, attempted rape, and stole money and valuables. The following day, the Appellant was arrested when police stopped a taxi he was in and found guns, cartridges, charms and money in his possession. His accomplice escaped. The Appellant later led police to the victims’ house where he was identified. Several witnesses, including the taxi driver, testified about his involvement and confession. The trial court convicted him and sentenced him to death. The Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction and sentence.

 

---

HELD

---

1. The appeal was dismissed and the concurrent judgments of the two lower courts were affirmed.

2. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction and death sentence.

3. The Court found that an identification parade was unnecessary given the clear recognition evidence.

4. The alibi defense failed due to overwhelming evidence placing the Appellant at the crime scene.

 

 

---

ISSUES

---

1. Whether the trial Court was right to convict the Appellant for criminal conspiracy ?

2. Whether the trial Court was right to convict and sentence the Appellant to death for armed robbery without conducting an identification parade and considering his alibi defense ?

 

 

---

RATIONES DECIDENDI

---

CONSPIRACY – PROOF OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN ACCUSED AND OTHERS

---

“The term ‘conspiracy’ under the English common law simply means an agreement of two or more persons to do an act or agree to do an act which is an offence. In other words, it is the agreement to do an act which amounts to an offence or to commit an offence. Conspiracy is the meeting of minds of two or more persons to carry out an unlawful purpose act or to carry out a lawful purpose in unlawful way or by unlawful means.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

CONSPIRACY – PROOF OF COMPLICITY OF ACCUSED

---

“The gist of the offence of conspiracy is the meeting of the mind of the conspirators. This is hardly capable of direct proof for the offence of conspiracy is complete by the agreement to do the act or make the omission complained about. Hence, conspiracy is a matter of inference from certain criminal acts of the parties concerned done in pursuance of an apparent criminal purpose in common between them.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

CONSPIRACY – CONVICTION OF SOLE ACCUSED

---

“Where here is evidence to support the conviction of a sole accused person for conspiracy, an appellate Court will not disturb the conviction.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

FAIR HEARING – WHEN RIGHT NOT BREACHED

---

“A party, who refuses or fails to take advantage of the fair hearing process, created by the Court, cannot turn around to accuse the Court of denying him fair hearing. This is not fair to the Court, and counsel must not instigate his client to accuse the Court of denying him fair hearing.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

ARMED ROBBERY – ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS:

---

“The essential ingredients of the offence of armed robbery are as follows: (a) That there must be robbery or series of robberies. (b) That the robbery or each robbery was an armed robbery (c) That the accused was one of those who took part in the armed robbery.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

ALIBI – WHEN INVESTIGATION UNNECESSARY

---

“Where a plea of alibi is raised and the prosecution is able to adduce sufficient and accepted evidence to fix the accused at the scene of crime at the material time, the alibi is thereby logically and physically demolished and it would be unreasonable and in fact, unimaginable for the police to begin to investigate same.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

IDENTIFICATION PARADE – WHEN NOT REQUIRED

---

“The law is settled that where a witness gives evidence of visual identification of an accused person which was not shaken under cross-examination, nothing stops the trial Court from accepting his evidence.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

RECOGNITION OF ACCUSED – RELIABILITY

---

“Recognition of an accused person arises when a person sees or acknowledges the identity of a man or woman well-known to him before the crime was committed. Generally, such recognition dispels any shadow of doubt about his commission of the crime.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

IDENTIFICATION – PURPOSE AND PROOF

---

“The purpose of identification evidence is simply to ascertain that the offender/suspect is actually the one responsible in committing the crime.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE – PROOF OF IDENTITY

---

“Where circumstances show the accused person’s involvement in the commission of the offence charged as in the case under consideration, that constitutes satisfactory proof and evidence of identification.” – Per Mohammed Baba Idris, JSC

 

---

CONCURRENT FINDINGS – WHEN NOT DISTURBED

---

“The concurrent findings of fact of the two lower Courts are not perverse, they are unassailable and there is no reason on the record to set them aside.” – Per Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, JSC

 

---

CONSPIRACY – SEPARATE OFFENCE

---

“A charge of conspiracy is totally separate offence. Thus, the offence of conspiracy may be committed even if the main offence has been aborted.” – Per Abubakar Sadiq Umar, JSC

 

---

CONSPIRACY – MODES OF PROOF

---

“It is because of the uniqueness of conspiracy and the fact that it is near impossible at times to establish it by direct evidence that it is usually proved through inference of the facts and circumstances of each case.” – Per Abubakar Sadiq Umar, JSC

 

---

CASES CITED

---

---

STATUTES REFERRED TO

---

1. Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act Cap R11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004

2. Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999

3. Evidence Act 2011

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL JUDGEMENT

---