CaseLaw
ONONUJU VS. STATE (2013) CLR 6(d) (SC)
Judgement delivered on June 21st 2013
Brief
Facts
This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal Owerri Division (hereinafter referred to as the lower court or the court below) delivered on the 24th March, 2011 confirming the conviction for murder and sentence to death by hanging passed on the Appellant.
Briefly put, Inspector David Poll, Sgt. Lazarus Adiele, Cpl. Desmond Ononuju, Inspector Victor Chiaka, PC Augustine Ochiaga, Inspector Sunday Uwadiegwu and Bonny Aikhadueki on the 15th day of August, 2002 along Orlu Road Junction by Mgbidi in Orlu Judicial Division murdered Christian Owerreoma. Each pleaded not guilty and the case proceeded to be heard with the prosecution calling five witnesses while the accused persons testified on their own behalf but did not call any witnesses. At the conclusion of the trial and in his judgment, the learned trial Judge Njemanze, J. found not guilty and discharged and acquitted the 1st, 4th and 5th accused persons while convicting and sentencing to death by hanging the 2nd, 3rd and 6th accused persons. An appeal against their conviction and sentence wherein the 3rd accused at the High Court, Corporal Desmond Ononuju was the 2nd Appellant at the Court below was dismissed and the conviction and sentence of death by the High Court was affirmed by the Court below. This is a further appeal to this court by Corporal Desmond Ononuju against his conviction and sentence of death by the trial court. It is pertinent to consider at this stage and in a nutshell the evidence of PW 2 - Boniface Ozumba which is fairly representative of the case for the prosecution at the High Court. His evidence was that he was travelling in his Nissan Car with registration number CY 926 AA with his brother in law one Christian Owerreoma on the 15th August, 2002 when they arrived at a checkpoint along Orlu Road Junction by Mgbidi. No sooner however had they left the checkpoint than they were chased by police officers from that check point in their ALGON Jeep. At the approach to the next checkpoint which was manned by mobile policemen, one of the policemen in the ALGON Jeep by name Inspector Uwadiegwu raised an alarm that PW 2 and his brother in law Christian Owerreoma were thieves and the said Inspector Uwadiegwu and other policemen in the ALGON Jeep began to shoot at PW 2's car, prompting the mobile policemen at the next checkpoint to also start shooting at PW 2's car. PW 2 and Christian Owerreoma were severely wounded and were taken to the White Rose Hospital Mgbidi where Christian Owerreoma was pronounced dead. The defence of both sets of policemen at their trial was that they had thought that PW 2 and the deceased Christian Owerreoma were armed robbers as they had refused to stop their car at the regular police check point for routine check. They all however denied shooting at the deceased's car. These are the brief facts of the case which have given rise to this appeal.