CaseLaw
Ilodigwe V. State (2012) CLR 7(d) (SC)
Judgement delivered on July 6th 2012
Brief
Facts
This appeal filed by one Oguejifor Ilodigwe (appellant) is against the judgment of the Court of Appeal Enugu Division (lower court) that has affirmed the judgment of the High Court of the Anambra Judicial Division holden at Otuocha (trial court presided over by Ezeani J.) which has convicted and sentenced the appellant and 5 (five) other co-accused persons to death by hanging for the murder of one Maduneke Enweonye missing since 8/6/1994 and whose dead body has not been recovered to this day.
Aggrieved by the decision, the appellant has appealed the decision to this court.
The dispute in this matter among members of Isiokwe Anaku Community to which the families of the appellant and Maduneke Enweonye (deceased) belong is over a fishing pond called "Ikpi Fishing Pond" situate at Isiokwe Anaku. The appellant's people claimed that the pond belongs exclusively to his family while the family of the deceased has maintained that the pond belongs to the entire Isiokwe Anaku Community. Eventually, the Community has resolved that "Ikpi Fishing Pond" is the common property of all Isiokwe Anaku Community and thereafter they let out "Ikpi Fishing Pond" for a fee to one Chief Philip Ezeoba for 5 years. lie appointed PW2 as the manager to manage the Fishing Pond and he in turn employed the appellant to fish in the pond for him. The manager later replaced the appellant by appointing the deceased in his stead. This change over did not go down well with the appellant. It so displeased the appellant that he made no secret of his displeasure and this broke out in the open on 21/5/94 at the Community Town Hall during the native festival of "Uta Amanwulu" at which place the appellant had issued a threat to kill the deceased and dispose of his body if he did not withdraw his employment from "Ikpi Fishing Pond". Not even the protestations from his kinsmen against the threat as he along with some of his immediate kinsmen stormed out of the Community Town Hall that day (21/5/94) to his house nearby where they continued their separate meeting. He also expressed his resentment by protesting to the manager of the fishing pond. This orgy of resentments has culminated in the event of 8/6/1994 when the deceased disappeared vis-a-vis the PWS's story of the incidents of that fateful night (8/6/94) of the killing of the deceased and the decision to dump his remains in Anambra River. The deceased had not been seen again ever by anybody who knew him including his relatives. The appellant and six others were arrested and charged with the offence of murder. More facts are as stated in the body of this judgment.
Issues
Whether the Court of Appeal was right in affirming the conviction and sentence of...