REX v. J. A. ONABANJO
April 24, 1936
WEST AFRICAN COURT OF APPEAL
NIGERIA
CORAM
- Cor. KINGDON
- PETRIDES
- WEBBER
- C.JJ
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
April 24, 1936
WEST AFRICAN COURT OF APPEAL
NIGERIA
CORAM
Try asking the following...
The following judgment was delivered:
KINGDON, c.J., NIGERIA.
Appellant was charged and convicted of stealing property of his employers, Messrs. John Holt & Co. Ltd., to the value of £615 15s., while in their employ as a storekeeper.
During the course of the evidence of Mr. Wood, agent for Messrs.
John Holt & Co. Ltd. at Ijebu Ode, the prosecution sought to put in a statement signed by appellant. Counsel for the defence objected to the statement being admitted, and it was then marked" K." for purposes of identification only.
After the case for the prosecution had been closed and the appellant had given evidence on his own behalf and closed his case without calling any witnesses, the trial Judge heard Counsel for the prosecution and defence as to the admissibility of the statement. After hearing their submissions he admitted the statement saying
•• I see no reason to disbelieve that statement was made voluntarily without threat or promise or inducement and I admit it. I do not believe accused's story."
The statement was then admitted and read and marked Exhibit" K." The Court then adjourned till the next day when, after hearing Counsel for the prosecution and defence, the trial Judge reserved judgment.
Mr. Wood gave evidence as to how the statement was signed.
In his examination-in-chief he stated that accused had given him a list of customers to whom he said he had supplied goods and then admitted that some of them were non-existent people. He went on to say, to quote his own words :-
•• Then I talked to accused and I persuaded accused to tell me the truth.
I merely asked accused to tell the truth. That is how I persuaded him. I thought at first that accused had merely been stupid in giving out goods to customers, but when I discovered this was untrue I naturally asked accused to tell me the truth and he then made a statement which was afterwards reduced to writing. I produce statement which I reduced to writing. I put in my own words what accused's statement conveyed to me (Counsel for accused objects to statement going in; marked for identification only Exhibit • K '). I reduced statement to writing imlIlediately after accused had repeated his story three times. I gave Exhibit· K' to accused who read it and then signed it. Exhibit· K ' is statement signed by him. An office clerk witnessed. his signature. On first occasion accused made the statement Mr. Peters and I and Mr. Obatello and another man present. On second occasion accused made sta
AI Generated Summary
Chief Justice Kingdon, writing for the appellate court in Nigeria, considered an appeal from the conviction of a storekeeper employed by Messrs. John Holt & Co. Ltd. for theft of goods valued at £615 15s. The prosecution sought to admit a written statement prepared by Mr. Wood, the company’s agent at Ijebu Ode, and later typed and signed by the appellant in the presence of an office clerk. Although defence counsel initially objected and the statement was marked for identification, the trial judge admitted it after hearing submissions and expressly finding it voluntary, disbelieving an alleged promise of continued work. On appeal, the court reaffirmed the requirement of voluntariness, found no evidence of threats or undue pressure, and noted the judge-alone context. While acknowledging an irregular delay in ruling on admissibility, the court held there was no prejudice and concluded the evidence justified the guilty finding. The appeal was dismissed.