The appellant was charged under section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Law. Cap 30 of the Laws of Eastern Nigeria 1963 with an offence of murdering one Obodo Nwojiji on or about 30th day of September, 1979. He was tried at the High Court Abakaliki and found guilty of the offence by Adimora J. He was then convicted and sentenced to death.

The facts proved at the trial were as follows:- The appellant, the deceased and four other persons, went to the house of one Akuma Nwangbo (P.W.5) where they drank about six bottles of illicit gin. While drinking, both the appellant and the de¬ceased quarrelled; but the quarrel was settled by those present, and the appellant thereafter left for his home. Later that night, both the deceased and one Obom Nwede a relation of the appellant, went to the hut of one Nwagbonyi Igwe (P.W.1) who was aroused from her sleep when the door of her hut was broken down. On getting outside, she saw them and the deceased was then holding a pen-knife. She questioned them as to what had happened; but they said nothing and merely walked away. She then followed them until they got back to the house of P.W.5 where she was told that both the appellant and the deceased had quarrelled and that the appellant had left. P.W.1, thereafter returned to her hut to sleep.

The following morning, the village crier was heard raising an alarm and sum-moning people to the village square where many people in the village gathered, but the appellant was conspicuously absent. The murder of the deceased was then announced, and his corpse was later found lying on the road-side with matchet cuts on his neck, head and forearm. Due to the information received, the ap¬pellant was subsequently searched for by his uncle (P.W.4) and when found, he went to his grandfather's house. Upon being informed of the deceased's murder, the appellant at first denied being involved in the incident. However, he later con-fessed to his uncle that he killed the deceased. He was thereafter taken to the police at Ibodo on 1st of October, 1979.

On the 2nd of October, 1979 the appellant first made a statement to the police (Exh.81) wherein he said that he quarrelled with the deceased who slapped him in the house of P.W.5 when they were drinking; and that the deceased thereafter pursued him to the hut of P.W.1 where the quarrel continued until he had to kill the deceased with a matchet (Exh.C) which he handed over to the police. The appel¬lant was later taken to the road Junction where the deceased's corpse was found: but he said that he did not know how it got there. On the 3rd October, 1979, the appellant made another statement to the police (Exh-EI), wherein he again con¬fessed that he killed the deceased but in different circumstances. Therein, he again described how he, the deceased and others had drunk and how the deceased had pursued him to the hut of P.W.1 where they fought.

The defence of provocation and self defence were raised and it was found that they were not available to the appellant as a defence.

Upon appeal to the Court of Appeal, it was dismissed. A further appeal to the Supreme Court was entered.