The appellant was at the time material to this case a cattle herds man in Kumo Bauchi State. Aishatu Alhassan P.W.1 was a self- employed woman who lived in Kumo town. Going by the prosecution’s case on the night of the 14th February, 1985. When P.W.I was walking with PC. Sabaru (deceased) to this house, they met some Fulani men standing on the road. The time was about 11 p.m. and there was light at the scene. As they passed the Fulanis followed them and beat the deceased with stick. She identified the appellant as the Fulani man who beat the deceased with a stick. As this happened P.W.1 began to shout for help. According to her when the appellant and the deceased began to fight the appellant stabbed the deceased with a knife causing the deceased's small intestine to gush out. At that stage one sergeant Vira Thisa P.W.5 had arrived at the scene with some other police men and convey the deceased. Accused and P.W.1 to Kumo Police station where the accused was detained. The deceased was convey to the General Hospital. The P.W.1 stayed the night at the said Hospital with the deceased until about 4 p.m. the next day when he died.

Dr. Sammako Dingis P.W.2 of the General Hospital Kaltungo examined and treated the deceased on the 15/02 85. He certified "the cause of death to be due to the perforated abdominal injury with the ensuring pancreatic shock". The injury found on the deceased could not have been self-inflicted.

According to the testimony of p.w.4 the police inspector who took part in the investigation and recorded two confessional statement Exhibit A & B in Hausa language from appellant. The English translations were Exhibit A1 and B1 respectively. He tendered a stick and scabbard said to have been collected from P.W.5 which he recovered at the scene of crime. P.W.5 said that he met the appellant on his way to Federal Low-cost Kumo when the appellant stabbed the deceased with a knife while the deceased gripped the hand of the appellant together with the knife. Subsequently the deceased fell down on the ground with his intestine gushing out and the knife fell aside. He arrested the appellant. He conveyed the deceased who was unconscious and the appellant to the police station at Kumo. Also taken along with them were a stick and knife. The deceased was admitted to the Kaltungo General Hospital where he died.

It was however the case of the defence as testified by the appellant himself that he fought on the 14th day of February, 1985 at about 10.00 p.m. with the deceased and was arrested. That while returning from Kumo Market on that fateful night he met the deceased and a woman (P.W.1). He was alone. The deceased asked him "whose father's house are you going to?" He the accused replied that he was going to his mother's house." As the appellant said the deceased gave a blow with his fist. A fight then ensued between the two, during the wrestling, the deceased threw the accused down thrice. At this time P.W.1 ran away. As the deceased threw the appellant to the ground, he matched his foot on his mouth and two of his teeth got broken. The wrestling continued, the appellant was again thrown down and given more fist blows by the deceased. As the appellant thought the deceased would never let him go, he stabbed the deceased with a knife which the appellant had on his person. The appellant was at this time suffering from the two broken teeth while his mouth was also bleeding. He said that he and the deceased was lying on him. He did not know when the deceased was removed off his body. The appellant confessed that although he had a stick with him that night the same fell off when they started wrestling and so the accused beat him up thoroughly. The appellant said that the time the deceased addressed him, they were walking in the opposite direction, he had not met the deceased and P.W.1 before. He made a statement Exh.A. The P.W.1 is his testimony merely said that he went to Gamba prison where he saw the accused nursing swollen mouth. He noticed that the accused had lost of two of his teeth.

The trial judge rejected the evidence of the two witnesses because of the aforesaid contradictions and relied on the appellant's confessional statements in convicting him. He also rejected the story of the appellant put up in his defence after the close of cast for the prosecution that the deceased fell him down three times during which he sustained two broken teeth whereupon he had to use his dagger in self-defence. Being dissatisfied with the judgment convicting him and sentencing him to dead, the appealed to the court of Appeal.