Tainted Witness

As rightly submitted by learned counsel for the respondent, a tainted witness is a person who may or may not be an accomplice, but who, by the evidence he gives (whether as witness for the prosecution or for the defence) may be regarded as having some purpose of his own to serve. In addition to the authorities cited by learned counsel for the respondent, see also: Oguonzee vs The State (supra) @ 554 F: Ishola Vs The State (1978) NSCC 499 @ 509: Omotola & Ors vs The State (2009) 2 – 3 SC 7: (2009) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1139) 148; Alhaji Muazu Ali vs State (2015) 10 NWLR (Pt. 11460) 1. The onus is on the appellant to satisfy the Court that PW1 had an interest of his own to serve other than truthfully stating what he saw. See: Ojo vs Gharoro & Ors. (2006) 10 NWLR (Pt. 987) 173 where it was contended that the 1st respondent was a tainted witness because, as an employee of the 2nd respondent he had given evidence in favour of his employer. At pages 209 – 210 Paragraphs H – B of the report, His Lordship, Niki Tobi, JSC held:
"The word "tainted" in the context of our law of evidence is bereft of its ordinary dictionary daily meaning of impurity, undesirability decay, infection and what have you. On the contrary, it has and carries the element of bias for the particular reason of the nearness or closeness in relationship and deliberate and uninstigated slant qua unsolicited and undeserved expression of favour to a particular person, in our context, the employer. I am not prepared to extend the frontiers of that law beyond its present onerous ambit. In the circumstances I hold that the 1st respondent is not a tainted witness.
See also: Oguonzee vs The State (supra) at 558 A – B. where this Court held that mere relationship by blood without more cannot be tantamount to a disqualification as a prosecution witness.
In other words, there must be clear evidence that the witness had an interest of his own to serve.

OCHANI V. THE STATE: LGC(28/4/2017)G

The question of who a tainted witness is remains a question of fact, and the trial Court is the most suited to decide whether or not their testimony is reliable; this Court is not equipped to do so – Egwumi V. State (supra).