Self-Defence

I, actually, find it curious that the appellant (as accused person at the trial court) set up the defences of self defence and provocation at the same trial. Whereas the Criminal Code provides for self defence in sections 286 and 287, the same Code provides for the defence of provocation in section 284. Whilst the former (the defence of self defence) is an exculpatory defence because, where it is established, it exonerates the accused person, Uwaekweghinya v. The State (2005) 23 WRN 1; (2005) 9 NWLR (Pt. 930) 227, the latter is, merely, an attenuating or a mitigating defence. Where available, it merely, attenuates; dis-rates or demotes the offence from murder to manslaughter.
In effect, the defence of provocation does not exonerate the accused person. It only earns him a mitigation of the punishment due for the offence of murder to a sentence for manslaughter, Uraku v. State (1976) LPELR-SC. 300/1975; (1976) 6 S.C. 128, Akang v. State (1971) 1 All NLR 47, 49, Musa v. State (2009) 51 WRN 1; (2009) LPELR-SC323/2006; (2009) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1165) 465, Ada v. State (2008) LPELR-SC.242/2004; (2008) 13 NWLR (Pt. 1103) 149; (2008) 34 NSCQR 508, Ajunwa v. The State (1988) 1 S.C 110, Laoye v. The State (1995) 2 NWLR (Pt. 10) 832, C. O. Okonkwo, Okonkwo and Naish: Criminal Law in Nigeria (Second edition) (Ibadan: Spectrum Books, 2000) 240, C. O. Okonkwo, "The Unlawful Act Doctrine and the defence of Accident" in The Nigerian Bar Journal Vol. 11 (1973) 93 – 97.

It is thus, the dissimilarity in the consequences of the availability of these defences that make them, mutually exclusive, that is that make them inconsistent defence, defences that cannot avail an accused person at the same time, Ibrahim v. State (1991) LPELR-SC.167/1990; (1991) 4 NWLR (Pt. 186) 399; (1991) 5 SCNJ 129, see also the very incisive, and the most stimulating, article by the cerebral Professor of Law, F. I Asogwah, "The applicability of some 'inconsistent' defences in the Nigerian Criminal Code," in I. A. Umezulike (ed), Law and Administration of Justice in the Twenty First Century

Ukpong v. State LGC(11/1/2019) I – J