CaseLaw
Okereke Vs. State (2016) CLR 1 (w) (SC)
Judgement delivered on January 29th 2016
Brief
Facts
The appellant herein, his brother Uzoma Okereke with their mother lived in the same neighbourhood with the deceased.
The appellant’s mother and the deceased were married to the same family as their husbands are first cousins. So, a common wall separated the houses of both women. There had been unresolved disputes between the deceased and the appellant’s mother where the latter had accused the deceased of killing her son’s dog and threatened that the deceased would have the same fate as the dead dog. The Plaintiff’s witness one Grace Igwe who is also married into the same family with the deceased testified to have heard the deceased shouting that her electric wire had been tampered with. On getting closer to same, she alleged seeing the appellant’s mother who told her son to break the deceased head with a plank.
In the early hours of 30th November, 2005, the witness said she found the deceased in her pool of blood with multiple body injuries and was told by the deceased that the appellant’s mother and her son inflicted the injuries on her.
The deceased later died of these injuries.
In defence, the appellant asserted that there was a robbery attack in their neigbourhood which left their mother injured and might have caused the injuries that were sustained by the deceased.
The trial judge found the appellant guilty and convicted him along with the co-accused to a sentence to death by hanging.
Dissatisfied, the appellant and others jointly appealed to the Court of Appeal. In a Unanimous decision, the appeal was dismissed thereby affirming the conviction and sentence of the trial court.
Further dissatisfied, the appellant appealed to the Apex Court.
Issues
Whether having regard to the facts and circumstances of this case, the...