MOHAMMED v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

The Court below found that the procedure for summary trial as provided under Sections 156 and 157(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code was duly complied with, and proceeded to affirm the conviction of the Appellant.
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The Appellant on the 4th February, 2012, was driving a stretched vehicle (a truck), along Mangu Road when he was involved in a fatal accident in which the passenger of a Motor cyclist road user was killed while the rider himself sustained injuries while driving his Motor Cycle as a result of the most unfortunate mishap. The Appellant was then tried before the Upper Area Court sitting in Mangu in Plateau State for the offence of causing death through dangerous driving under Section 5 of the Federal Highways Act.
The First Information Report (F.I.R.) on which the Appellant was tried and convicted by the Upper Area Court, states thus:
“CAUSING DEATH BY DANGEROUS DRIVING on the 4/02/2002, at about 16:30 hours along Mangu-Jos road, at opposite INEC office, Mangu being a Federal Highway.”
“You Useini Mohammed “M’ of Anglo Jos, South LGA drove your vehicle Mercedes Benz truck with registration number AA 873 DDA in a dangerous and reckless manner and knocked down one cyclist by name Ayuba Dusah “M’ of Tul village Mangu L.G.A., on his Jincheng Motorcycle. As a result of the accident the occupant of the motorcycle by name Kilyobas Dusah ‘M’ of the same address died at the spot. While the rider sustained minor injury on his body (and) you thereby committed traffic offence contrary to Section 5 of the Federal Highway Act suggested (sic).”
Inelegance of charge was not enough to clog the hands of justice. The charges were read and the Appellant, then an Accused person, confirmed the allegation, by declaring thus:
“The allegation is true because I drove the car dangerously and so caused the death of the motorcyclist that I knocked down. I am sorry. I was actually reckless.”
The Upper Area Court in accepting the guilty plea and the request of the Prosecuting Police Officer, held thus:
“The accused person having accepted liability or having admitted committing the offence of driving his vehicle Mercedes Benz truck with registration number AA 873 DDA in a dangerous manner under Section 5 of the Federal Highways Act, Accordingly, this Court hereby exercises the discretionary powers conferred on it by Section 157(1) of the CPC, Section 8(2) of the Federal Highway Act and the Criminal Procedure (Punishment on Summary Conviction) Order 1987 to convict the accused person and he is hereby convicted and shall be sentenced.”

Following the conviction of the accused person, now Appellant by the trial Court on the 14th May, 2012, the plea of allocutus was then taken from the Convict/Appellant. On 14th May, 2012, judgment was delivered thus:
“Plea of leniency is taken into account but the fact still remains that the outcome would have been milder if the accused was not reckless on his own part. The convict is hereby sentenced to 6 months jail term without an option of fine. Appeal lies to the High Court of Justice within 30 days of this sentence.”
Being dissatisfied with the judgment, the Appellant filed an appeal before the Plateau State High Court on the ground, among others that the Upper Area Court erred in law when it convicted the accused person and sentenced him to a term of six (6) months imprisonment on the basis that he admitted the offence for which he was charged and pleaded guilty, and despite offering adequate explanation on the circumstances of the accident.
At the High Court, the Court, Per Hon. Justice D.D. Longji, in a judgment delivered on 18th March, 2013, dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the summary trial conducted by the trial Judge was in accordance with the provisions of Sections 156 and 157(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (C.P.C.), and thereby affirmed the conviction of the Appellant by the Upper Area Court.
Still being dissatisfied, the Appellant decided to try his luck at the Court of Appeal. On 30th June 2014, the Court of

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