The appellant, Augustine Nwangbomu was to marry one Juliana Igwe, a child. It seems that by custom of Ezza in Abakaliki she had to stay with the proposed husband for a while to decide whether they could live together as husband and wife, Juliana Igwe (P.W.9) ran back home several times - about fourteen or fifteen times according to her Uncle Michael Onele, P.W.8. The appellant was apparently unhappy at the prospect of losing Juliana.

Michael Onele (P.W.8), a teacher got home from school and saw the appellant in their compound. The appellant told P.W.8 he had come to effect a settlement on the matter of Juliana and himself. Juliana was very young at the time, perhaps about 12 or 13 years. P.W.8 pleaded with the appellant to allow the girl to mature; the appellant apparently took offence for this simple advice. As P.W.8 was moving away from him the appellant attacked him (P.W.8) with a matchet at his back, neck, ear, right shoulder and on the head. P.W.8 raised an alarm and the appellant told him nobody would save him as he was going to kill him. P.W.8 was saved by the coming out of Juliana, the P.W.8's mother and his wife. Before P.W.8 came on the scene, the appellant had spoken to Juliana (P.W.9) and she told him the Obaji Oyibo (Juliana's mother) had gone to the farm and that P.W.8 was away to school where he was a teacher. When P.W.8 arrived and appellant attacked him with matchet. P.W.9 ran out with the others and saw the appellant running away with a matchet. P.W.8 was having several matchet cuts on him and had to be taken to the hospital.

A little after this at the rice farm of Obaji Oyibo where she was with farm hands including Nwokporo Nweke (P.W.4) Nwafor Ochiagu (P.W.3) Ovu Onele (P.W.5) and Nwoja Odoh (P.W.6); suddenly they heard someone shouting and threatening he would kill anybody he met at the farm. All the others escaped and only Obaji Oyibo was not seen again alive as her corpse was found. According to medical evidence, she was at the time of her death about thirty-five years old and was carrying a five months pregnancy. She had a deep wound at the nape of the neck, five centimetres deep and eleven centimetres long. The wound penetrated the lower cervical vertebra. She died of hemorrhage due to a deep wound on the neck. A little after this at the rice farm of Obaji Oyibo where she was with farm hands including Nwokporo Nweke (P.W.4) Nwafor Ochiagu (P.W.3) Ovu Onele (P.W.5) and Nwoja Odoh (P.W.6); suddenly they heard someone shouting and threatening he would kill anybody he met at the farm. All the others escaped and only Obaji Oyibo was not seen again alive as her corpse was found. According to medical evidence, she was at the time of her death about thirty-five years old and was carrying a five months pregnancy. She had a deep wound at the nape of the neck, five centimetres deep and eleven centimetres long. The wound penetrated the lower cervical vertebra. She died of hemorrhage due to a deep wound on the neck.

Nobody who heard the threatening voice at the farm of the deceased waited to see who was threatening; they ran away leaving the deceased alone behind.

There was thus no direct evidence of who attacked the deceased with a sharp object that killed her except the appellant in his voluntary statement to the police. He was cautioned by the investigating police officer and he volunteered a statement.

By this voluntary statement, the appellant confessed that he first attacked P.W.8 and having heard that Obaji Oyibo (deceased) was at the farm he ran there and found her alone and killed her with the matchet.

At the trial, appellant attempted to resile on his voluntary statement, Exhibit B and B1. He admitted he made a statement but that he never said all that was recorded. Thus the making of the statement rather than its voluntariness was in issue. Learned trial Judge ruled and admitted the statement. Trial Judge after a review of the evidence in the case, especially the complete denial of any knowledge of how the deceased died and the denial by appellant that he never even visited the compound of the deceased where P.W.8 and P.W.9 also lived on the 8th December, 1983, found the appellant guilty of the offence of murder under Section 319(1) Criminal Code Law (Laws of Eastern Nigeria, 1963) Cap. 43 Vol.II. He was sentenced to death. On appeal, Court of Appeal, Enugu Branch dismissed the appeal; thus the appeal to this court.