CaseLaw
Manesseh Japhet & Anor Vs. State (2014) CLR 5(b) SC
Judgement delivered on May 30th 2014
Brief
Facts
Manasseh Japhet and Sunday Jumbobaraye were the 2nd and 3rd accused respectively in a three count charge of murder contrary to S. 319(1) of the Criminal Code of Rivers State (Cap. 37, Laws of the Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999) and shop breaking contrary to S. 413(1) of the said Criminal Code in Charge No. PHC/10C/2005. The 2nd accused is a maternal uncle to the 3rd accused. They together with two others Korite and Amabo Kalango (1st and 4th accused respectively) were arraigned on criminal information filed on 16th May, 2005. Upon the arraignment the 2nd and 3rd accused, who are appellants before this Court applied by Motion on Notice filed on 14th June, 2005 to quash the information against them on the ground inter alia, that the information did not disclose a prima facie evidence against them.
After the application had been argued, the learned trial Judge delivered a Ruling on 8th March, 2006 dismissing the application. Dissatisfied with the aforesaid Ruling the appellant herein together with Sunday Jumbobaraye appealed jointly to the Court of Appeal in the Notice of Appeal filed on 22nd March, 2006 (See pages 119-122 of the records). Also following the plea of not guilty by the appellant and his co-accused and after the court had admitted all the accused persons to bail, the trial court on 27/11/2006 adjourned the case sine die due to difficulty in getting the vital witnesses to testify. The appellant and his co-accused were also dissatisfied with the adjournment of the case sine die and jointly filed another Notice of Appeal on 11/12/2006 (See pages 151-154 of the records).
The two interlocutory appeals were consolidated and in its judgment delivered on 4/11/2010, the Court of Appeal suo motu struck out the Notices of Appeal as being incompetent.
From this decision the two appellants filed a separate Notice of Appeal each. The appeal by Manasseh Japhet is numbered SC.21/2011 while the one by Sunday Jumbobaraye is numbered SC.21A/2011. At the hearing of the appeal learned counsel for the appellants applied to consolidate the appeals and to use the same record and the application was granted. Since the issues raised in the two appeals are the same, the resolution of appeal No. SC.21A/2011 applies mutatis mutandi to appeal No. SC.21A/2011.