Offence

The prosecution charged the Appellant for the murder of NDUDIRI ONYEKWERE, NOT NDUBUISI ONYEKWERE, NDUBISI ONYEKWERE, ERNEST NDUBISIS ONYEKWEKWERE, or EARNEST NDUBUISI ONYEKWERE. If therefore they led evidence proving the death of NDUBISI ONYEKWERE through PW.4, then another version of the same murder has been introduced. In PAUL AMEH v. THE STATE (1972) 6-7 SC 27, this Court held that when the prosecution presents two versions of one offence charged, then they had failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The trial Court is obligated not to convict an accused person in the circumstance and to treat the prosecution's case as unreliable when there are material contradictions in the prosecution's case. See ENAHORO v. THE QUEEN(1965) NMLR 265; KALU v. THE STATE (1988) 4 NWLR (Pt. 90) 503; UKUT v. THE STATE (1995) 9 NWLR (Pt. 420) 392.In the face of material contradictions, there can be no proof beyond doubt in a criminal proceeding.

Of note in the duty to establish the offence of conspiracy is the fact that the prosecution is not expected to prove that the conspirators met before carrying out their activities which are seen as criminal rather the offence of conspiracy is sustained by the prosecution leading evidence from which the Court can discern or infer the criminal acts of the accused person done in pursuance of the apparent criminal purpose common between or among the conspirators. Again, to be said is that to establish conspiracy all that is expected of the prosecution is to prove the inchoate or rudimentary nature of the offence and the inference from which the meeting of the minds of the accused persons nor is it necessary to establish that the conspirators had been in any direct communication one with the other or others as the case may be. There is no hard and fast rule as to how to infer conspiracy as even the mere evidence of complicity is sufficient. I place reliance on Iwuneye v. The State (2000) 5 NWLR (Pt. 658) 550 at 560-561; Osondu v. F.R.N. (2000) 12 NWLR (Pt. 682) 482 at 501-502.