CaseLaw
Mohammed Vs. The State (2013) CLR 1(E) (SC)
Judgement delivered on January 25th 2013
Brief
Facts
This appeal is against the judgment of the Court of Appeal Jos Division delivered on 17th May, 2010 in which the Court nullified the judgment of the High Court of Justice of Yobe State given on 24th February, 2005 by which the appellant was convicted of Culpable Homicide punishable with death and sentenced to death accordingly. The Court of Appeal on allowing the appeal nullified the judgment of the High Court and order for a retrial of the Appellant by another judge of the Yobe State High Court of Justice on grounds of irregularities in the conduct of the trial which rendered the entire proceedings a nullity.
The Appellant was Security Guard with the Government Girls Secondary Potiskum in Yobe State. The deceased was also working with the Appellant as Security Guard. The Appellant who suspected the deceased of having an affair with his wife, pursed the deceased and struck him with an axe and the act resulted in the death of the deceased. The Appellant was arraigned before the trial High Court and charged with the offence of Culpable Homicide punished with death under section 221(a) of the Penal Code for having caused the death of the deceased Ibrahim Marshal by striking him with an axe. At the trial, although the trial Court assigned a Counsel to defend the Appellant, before that Counsel could start the assignment by appearing for the Appellant, the trial court took the plea of the Appellant without recording that plea in the record of the proceedings of the trial Court. Later, the charge against the Appellant was amended by the prosecuting Counsel but even that amended charged was not also pleaded by the Appellant as the record of the trial court does not also pleaded by the Appellant as the record of the court does not show that any plea was taken by the Appellant before the case went into trial culminating in the conviction of the Appellant for the offence charged under 221(a) of the Penal Code for which the Appellant was sentenced to death.
Aggrieved with his conviction and sentence, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal which after affording the Appellant and the Respondent a hearing, allowed the appeal, declared the trial of the Appellant a nullity and ordered the retrial of the Appellant by another Judge of the High Court of Yobe State. The Appellant is now on a further appeal to this Court
Issues
Whether it was proper for the Court of Appeal to have ordered a retrial....