Judgment
EMMANUEL AKOMAYE AGIM, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): This appeal No. SC.839/2018 was commenced on 23 April, 2018 when the appellant herein filed a notice of appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on 16 March 2018 in appeal No. CA/PH/21CR/2015 concurring with and affirming the judgment of the High Court of Rivers State sitting at Port Harcourt delivered on 29 May, 2014 in criminal case No. BHC/40CR/2007 convicting the appellant of the offences of conspiracy to commit murder and murder and sentencing him to death by hanging on the neck.
The notice of this appeal contains three grounds for the appeal. Both sides filed, exchanged and adopted their respective briefs as follows- appellant’s brief and respondent’s brief.
The appellant’s brief raised three issues for determination as follows: 1. Whether the Court of Appeal was correct when their lordships held in their judgment that the appellant’s alibi does not avail the appellant? (Ground 3 of the notice of appeal). 2. Whether PW1 and PW2 the alleged eye witnesses gave convincing and credible evidence to predicate the conviction of the appellant? (Ground 2 of the notice of the appeal). 3.
Whether the prosecution by the available evidence proved the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt? (Grounds 1 and 4 of the notice of appeal). The respondent’s brief also raised three issues for determination as follows: 1. Whether the learned justices of the Court of Appeal were right to hold that in the circumstances of this case, the defence of alibi does not avail the appellant? (Distilled from ground 3 of the notice of appeal) 2.
Whether the learned justices of the Court of Appeal were right in upholding the decision of the trial Court that there were no material contradictions in the eyewitness accounts of the PW1 and PW2 such that the prosecution could not be said to have proved the offence of murder against the appellant? (Distilled from grounds 1 and 4 of the notice of appeal). 3.
Whether the learned justices of the Court of Appeal were right when they affirmed the decision of the trial Court that the evidence adduced by the prosecution sufficiently proved the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt? (Distilled from grounds 1 and 4 of the notice of appeal).
