The facts are sufficiently set
out in the judgment.
W .. Wells Palmer
(with him O. A. Alakija)
for Appellant.
E. O. Pretheroe for
Crown.
The following judgment was
delivered:
KINGDON, c.J., NIGERIA.
Appellant was charged and
convicted of stealing property
of his employers, Messrs. John
Holt & Co. Ltd., to the value of
£615 15s., while in their employ
as a storekeeper.
During the course of the
evidence of Mr. Wood, agent for
Messrs.
John Holt & Co. Ltd. at Ijebu
Ode, the prosecution sought to
put in a statement signed by
appellant. Counsel for the
defence objected to the
statement being admitted, and it
was then marked" K." for
purposes of identification only.
After the case for the
prosecution had been closed and
the appellant had given
evidence on his own behalf and
closed his case without calling
any witnesses, the trial Judge
heard Counsel for the
prosecution and defence as to
the admissibility of the
statement. After hearing their
submissions he admitted the
statement saying
•• I see no reason to disbelieve
that statement was made
voluntarily without threat or
promise or inducement and I
admit it. I do not believe
accused's story."
The statement was then admitted
and read and marked Exhibit" K."
The Court then adjourned till
the next day when, after hearing
Counsel for the prosecution and
defence, the trial Judge
reserved judgment.
Mr. Wood gave evidence as to how
the statement was signed.
In his examination-in-chief he
stated that accused had given
him a list of customers to whom
he said he had supplied goods
and then admitted that some of
them were non-existent people.
He went on to say, to quote his
own words :-
•• Then I talked to accused and
I persuaded accused to tell me
the truth.
I merely asked accused to tell
the truth. That is how I
persuaded him. I thought at
first that accused had merely
been stupid in giving out goods
to customers, but when I
discovered this was untrue I
naturally asked accused to tell
me the truth and he then made a
statement which was afterwards
reduced to writing. I produce
statement which I reduced to
writing. I put in my own words
what accused's statement
conveyed to me (Counsel for
accused objects to statement
going in; marked for
identification only Exhibit • K
'). I reduced statement to
writing imlIlediately after
accused had repeated his story
three times. I gave Exhibit· K'
to accused who read it and then
signed it. Exhibit· K ' is
statement signed by him. An
office clerk witnessed. his
signature. On first occasion
accused made the statement Mr.
Peters and I and Mr. Obatello
and another man present. On
second occasion accused made
statement Mr. Winter, Mr.
Obatello and I present and on
last occasion Mr. Bateson and I
present. It was what he said on
last occasion that I reduced to
writing and accused signed."
In cross-examination he said :-
•• Accused made statements to me
on three occasions and it was
after last statement that I put
it in writing. Mr. Bateson
present when accused made last
statement. The statement reduced
to writing in my office in
absence of accused. Written
statement contained my idea of
what accused said. It was
approximately seven or eight
days that I was trying to get
out the truth from accused. I
asked accused to come to my
house to try and get at the
truth, but not after the written
statement typed. Written
statement signed in my office
and not in my house. Bateson not
present when accused signed the
statement. Bateson signed
statement as he was present when
statement made. I didn't tell
accused that if he signed the
statement I would open the shop
for him at once. I had been
talking to accused daily between
5th and date statement signed.
Accused merely asked to my house
for sake of privacy. My office
door made of expanded metal."
The evidence of the next
witness, Hussein Abdullah Rahman
Twins, on the point was :-
.• After that stocktaking I saw
accused again in the office when
he came to sign a statement.
This is statement (Exhibit· K ')
accused signed it in my
presence. He read Exhibit· K'
in my presence. I signed
Exhibit· K' as a witness .
.• I work in Mr. Wood's office.
There is a partition between his
office and mine. I am a typist.
First witness typed Exhibit· K:
There are two typewriters in
general office and one in first
witness's. I saw Mr. Wood when
he typed Exhibit· K: Accused not
present when statement typed .
•• When accused signed first
witness and I present. I cannot
remember who else was there.
There are some one else. Not
true that Mr. Wood just got me
to sign Exhibit· K ' after all
completed in my absence. After
accused finished reading
statement he asked Mr. Wood's
permission to take away
statement before he signed it.
He was granted permission. Went
away and returned with it in a
short time and then signed. Wood
did not tell accused that if he
signed Exhibit· K' the store
would be reopened for him. I
didn't read Exhibit· K.' I
didn't know what was in
statement. I never heard accused
tell Wood that he had delivered
goods to Peters which Peters
denied receiving. I didn't hear
Wood tell accused that he must
sign Exhibit· K.'"
It results from the authorities
that the statement was not
admissible unless it was shown
affirmatively on the part of the
prosecution that it was made
without the appellant being
induced to make it by any
promise or favour or by menaces
or under terror. (See
Archbold,
29th edition, p. 389.)
Counsel for appellant had
contended that the evidence
showed that appellant had been
urged to tell the truth and had
been badgered into signing the
statement. While the evidence
shows that the appellant had
been subjected to a very
searching cross-examination by
Mr. Wood as to what had happened
to the missing goods, there is
nothing in the defendant's
evidence to show that he
complained at the trial that he
had been induced to sign the
statement because he had been
threatened or badgered into
doing so by Mr. Wood or any
other person in authority over
him.
It is quite clear that the
appellant's complaint at the
trial was not that he had been
badgered into signing the
statement, but that he had been
induced to sign by a promise
that if he did so he would be
allowed to continue his work
when Mr. Winter came and that it
was on the strength of this
promise that he consented to
sign the statement.
It is quite clear that the trial
Judge disbelieved appellant's
story that he had been induced
to sign the statement by this
promise, and it not having been
suggested by the appellant at
the trial that he was induced to
sign the statement by any threat
or undue pressure, this Court is
unable to come to the conclusion
that the trial Judge was wrong
in admitting the statement.
There can be no doubt that, when
the question of the
admissibility of th~ statement
was raised, the trial Judge
should have then, after hearing
evidence from both sides upon
the point, if tendered. ruled on
the admissibility of the
statement.
This Court has therefore to
consider whether the appeal
should be allowed on account of
that irregularity.
It must be borne in mind that
the trial was by the assistant
Judge without a jury. There is
nothing on the record to show
that Counsel in the Court below
urged that even if the statement
were admissible it could not be
admitted at that stage. It
cannot be doubted that if
Counsel for appellant in the
Court below had suggested that
he would like to reopen the
defence his request would have
been granted. In all the
circumstances this Court is of
the opinion that the appellant
has suffered no prejudice and
that the appeal should not be
allowed on the ground of the
irregularity in postponing
decision until the appellant had
given his version of what had
occurred to induce him to sign
the statement.
As regards the contention that
the conviction was against the
weight of evidence this Court is
satisfied that there was ample
evidence to justify the learned
Judge finding the accused
guilty, and the appeal is
dismissed.