The accused was charged with the offence of murder of one Frances Madu, a police constable. The deceased was alleged to have died from gunshot wound. The deceased was a passenger in a Nissan Minibus and the fatal incident occurred at a check-point near the Nkwo-Agu Market in Udi as a result of the shot from the pistol assigned to the accused, a Police Officer of the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police. P.W. 2 the driver of the Nissan minibus gave account of the event leading to the death of the deceased. According to P.W. 2 the deceased wearing police uniform, who was sitting in the front seat of his minibus, challenged the constable in the company of the accused as to the propriety of demanding money from the witness (p.w.2). The said constable then requested the deceased to a accompany him to his superior officer, i.e. the accused. That he did. On getting there, the accused shouted abuses on him but the deceased later returned to his seat. Accused followed the deceased back to his seat. Thereupon the accused pulled out his pistol and threatened "to bater the bus and the passengers if I moved an inch from that spot" The accused then moved to the side where the deceased was seated opened the door, held the deceased by the collar of his dress and pulled him down from the bus to the ground. The accused then slapped the deceased and unleashed blows on him so also did the constable in the accused's accompany. Continuing, the witness said, that at a point, the accused then shot at the deceased and the deceased collapsed on the ground. Thereafter, the accused and the aforesaid constable put the deceased in a vehicle and drove off to unknown destination.

P.W.5 also gave an eye-witness account of the incident leading to the gunshot which also injured his right-palm. The witness testified that he tried to intervene but the pressure of the beating of the deceased by the accused and the constable with him aborted his efforts. P.W. 7 gave an account of the circumstances leading to the death of the deceased. Furthermore, P.w. 8 a policeman who was on traffic duty at the market with the accused narrated how the incident occurred.At the close of the case for the prosecution which fielded eight (8) witnesses, the learned counsel for the accused made a no-case submission and rested his defence thereon. In a reserved judgment, the learned trial judge found accused guilty of murder as charged and sentenced him to death. It is against his conviction and sentence that the accused, herein appellant, has filed this appeal.