Offence Of Armed Robbery

Armed robbery is simply stealing plus violence used or threatened. In describing the offence of armed robbery, the Court in Fatayi Olayinka V. the State 30 NSCQR 149 on pages 162-153 said where it is shown that in forcefully taking away the property of another, the assailant either hurts or attempts to put his victim in a state of fear or apprehension of eminent harm or threat or restraint, an armed robbery has taken place.
By the provisions of the Robbery and Firearms (special provisions) Act, offence of armed robbery can be established once credible evidence is led by the prosecution to show that the accused person used weapon(s) to cause threat or fear on his victim or victims. Once credible evidence adduced by the prosecution establishing that weapon was used in the robbery operation and the accused failed to debunk such evidence in his defence, the accused can be rightly convicted as done by the trial court in the above case. It is trite law that to obtain conviction in an armed robbery case, the prosecution must establish three ingredients via (a) That there was indeed a robbery or there were series of robberies.
(b) That the robbery was an armed robbery and
(c) That the robbery appellant, in particular, was one of those who carried out the robbery.
In the case of John Nwachukwu V the State (1985) Vol. NWLR, the accused carried out robbery with the use of a toy gun. The court held that although the threat of violence was present at the performance of the act, it would only amount to robbery. This is due to the fact that a toy gun does not fall under the category of firearms or offensive weapons as provided by the Robbery and Firearms Act.
An important ingredient in securing conviction for the offence of armed robbery is the use of firearms and offensive weapons as provided for in S.I (2)(a) of the Robbery and Firearms Act. Section II of the Act defines firearms as … any canon, gun, rifle, carbine, machine-gun, cap gun or other firearm, whether whole or in detached pieces while offensive weapon has been defined as; any article (apart from a firearm) made or adopted for use for causing injury to the person or intended by the person having it for such use by him as it includes an air gun, air pistol, bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, machete, digger, cudgel, or any piece of wood, metal, glass or stone capable of being used as an offensive weapon.
The offence of Armed Robbery contravenes Section 1(2)(b) of the Robbery and firearms Act Cap RII of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and is Punishable with death upon conviction. In Olufemi Babatunde V. State Appeal no: Sc 516/2014 the appellant was convicted for the offence of armed robbery, he was sentenced to death by the High Court of Kwara State and on appeal to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court the decision of the High Court was upheld.
For robbing one Alhaja Sariyu Olorunnisola of her Nissan Murano Jeep, jewelleries, money and phones, with a gun.