Between
CAPTAIN EZEKIEL AGABA –
Appellant
AND
CAPTAIN EZEKIEL AGABA –Appellant
AND
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA –
Respondent
Before Their Lordships
YARGATA BYENCHIT NIMPAR Justice of The Court of Appeal of Nigeria
UGOCHUKWU ANTHONY OGAKWU Justice of The Court of Appeal of Nigeria
ABIMBOLA OSARUGUE OBASEKI-ADEJUMO Justice of The Court of Appeal of Nigeria
Between
CAPTAIN EZEKIEL AGABA –Appellant
AND
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA –Respondent
…………………….A…………………….
YARGATA BYENCHIT NIMPAR, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This appeal is predicated upon the ruling of the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos (the Court below) delivered on the 16th day of October, 2017 by HON. JUSTICE I.N. BUBA wherein the application of a No Case application was dismissed and the Appellant was ordered to enter his defence to the 22 counts filed against him by the Respondent. Aggrieved, the Appellant filed a Notice of Appeal dated 18/10/17 and filed on the same day setting out 5 grounds of Appeal.
The Appellant was accused of several offences of conspiracy, conversion and inducement of the Federal Government, a charge denied by the Appellant. The Respondent called several witnesses and tendered a host of documents in proof of the charge. The Appellant after the case for the Prosecution made an application contending that no case was made out against the Appellant. The Court below found otherwise thus this appeal.
The Appellants brief dated 13th December, 2017 filed on the same date but deemed on 20/3/18 distilled 2 issues for determination as follows:
i. Whether the totality of evidence adduced at the trial, a prima facie case could be said to have been established against the Appellant, with respect to the allegations contained in the charge before the Court, to warrant calling upon him to enter a defence to the allegations?
ii. Whether from the totality of the evidence adduced at the trial, the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses was not so severely discredited in relation to the allegations against the appellant, such that the decision of the trial Court calling upon the Appellant to enter his defence did not constitute a violation of his right to presumption of innocence? The Appellant filed a reply brief (Amended) dated 22/2/18 filed same day.
The Respondent on its part formulated a sole issue as follows:
Whether the lower Court was wrong in holding that the Respondent (Prosecution) has made out a prima facie case against the Appellant to warrant its being called upon to enter his defence. I have considered the Notice of appeal, the record of appeal and the briefs of the respective counsel in this appeal and I am inclined to adopt the sole issue presented by the Respondent for determination here.
The sole question is whether there was a prima facie case to warrant calling on the Appellant to put in his defence or whether there was none, in which case the no case submission should succeed. The two issues donated by the Appellant herein are all encapsulated in the single issue formulated by the Respondent. In a No case submission, the primary issue is narrow and it is simply to determine whether there was a prima facie case made out against the Appellant to warrant his being asked to enter his defence. The Court cannot determine credibility of the witnesses nor evaluated the quality of evidence at this stage. Consequently, all other issues outside this narrow view shall be discountenanced by the Court.
SOLE ISSUE
Whether the lower Court was wrong in holding that the Respondent (Prosecution) has made out a prima facie case against the Appellant to warrant its being called upon to enter his defence. The Appellant under issue one stated the position of the law with respect to a no case submission, submitted that once the evidence of the prosecution cannot sustain conviction, then no prima facie case has been established and
…………………….B…………………….
