Appeal Court. 16 April, 1936.
Attempt to procure a person to
forge notes-Section
8A
West African
Appeal from
Currency Notes Ordinance-Proof
of posting-Meaning of
" Currency Note."
Appeal dismissed.
The facts of this case are
sufficiently set out in the
judgment.
A. Akiwumi
for Appellant.
E. O. Pretheroe
for Crown.
The following judgment was
delivered: KINGDON, C.J.,
NIGERIA.
In this case the appellant was
charged before the Ibadan
Division of the High Court at
Ijebu Ode with contravening
section 8A of the West African
Currency Notes Ordinance, which
reads as follows :-
•• SA. If any person while in
Nigeria attempts to procure
another person to forge any
currency note, whether in
Nigeria or at any place not in
Nigeria, he shall on conviction
be liable to imprisonment for
ten years:'
The evidence for the prosecution
consisted of the putting in of a
letter and its envelope (Exhibit
" A") and proof that appellant
produced a copy (Exhibit "B") of
"A" from his house, and evidence
of a handwriting expert that" A
" and" B " were identical. The
letter is addressed to a firm in
the U.S.A. and is signed" E. S.
George." The incriminating part
of the letter consists of the
words "Herewithenclosed a
British Postal Order (No.
1.C.003861) of (2s. 6d.) two
shillings and six pence, to buy
one-fourth of one hundred of
currency notes." The envelope
shows that the letter was posted
at Shagamu in Nigeria.
Upon the conclusion of this
evidence for the prosecution
Counsel for the appellant
submitted that there was no case
for him to answer, and on being
overruled tendered no evidence,
but relied upon the submission
that the terms of the letter
amounted only to an enquiry and
not to an attempt to procure.
The learned trial Judge
disagreed and held that the
letter constituted an attempt to
procure the addressees to forge
notes.
He convicted the appellant and
sentenced him to two years'
I.H.L.
On appeal to this Court two
points have been urged on behalf
of appellant.
The first is that proof of posting
the letter is not sufficient. its
receipt must be proved before the
attempt is established. But the
law on this point is quite clear,
namely, that where a letter is
sent soliciting and inciting the
addressee to commit a crime, but
is not proved to have reached the
intended recipient, the sender may
be properly convicted of an
attempt to incite to the
commission of the crime
(R. v. Banks,
12 Cox. 393;
R. v. Ransford,
13 Cox. 9;
R. v. Cope,
16 Cr. App. R. 77).
This ground of appeal therefore
fails.
The second point is that the
section only applies to West
African currency notes and that
there is nothing in the letter to
show that the reference to "
currency notes" means West African
currency notes; they might be any
currency notes of any other
country. On this point the Court
thinks that the lower Court
rightly took the expression "
currency notes" to have the
ordinary meaning which it would
have to any ordinary Nigerian
using it in Nigeria, viz. "West
African currency notes," these
being the only kind of currency
notes with which the average
native of Nigeria is conversant.
This ground therefore fails also,
and the appeal is dismissed.
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