Crime And Circumstantial Evidence

Evidence governs the use of testimony either oral or written statements, exhibits, documentary materials, which are admissible in judicial proceedings. The purpose of evidence is to be fair to both parties, disallowing the raising of allegations without a basis in provable facts. In every jurisdiction, evidence must conform to a number of rules and restrictions to be admissible circumstantial evidence are defined as evidence not of the fact in issue but of other facts from which the fact in issue can be interred. For the bench, it is evidence of surrounding circumstances which by undersigned coincidence is capable of proving a proposition with the accuracy of Mathematics. Uwais JSC in Valentine Adie V. State (1982) INCR 375 Most criminal cases are decided on the basis of circumstantial evidence, especially murder cases.
In Felix Okooro V. state (1993) 3NWLR (pr 282) 425. CA The appellant, his wife and the decased, a child the wife had for another man lived together in a room. At about 3am of 28/12/83 the wife left the appellant and the deceased in the room and went to the toilet. Only to return and not find any of them in the room. The next day she reported to the police, a search party subsequently found the appellant who on interrogation by the police stated that the deceased had been killed. He took the police and other people to a rubber plantation where they found the deceased decomposing body. Medical evidence showed that the deceased died of strangulation. Although he denied that he was not responsible for the death. But the court held that even if someone else killed the deceased but based on the circumstantial evidence he is a principal actor. The court of appeal confirms his conviction.
Also in Money Obukor V. state the appellant and the deceased who even though unmarried, had lived together for a long time, slept together in the house as usual. In the morning the decease’s corps was seen on the floor with her face upward and the body covered with a wrapper. Post mortem report showed that she died to brain damage from lethal blow to the face and the head. The appellant escaped to Sapele and hid himself. The court held that innocent circumstances other them inculpation facts would not put to flight to an unkown place a lover or husband from their matrimonial home on the death of a lover or wife, he was found guilty.
The list of culpable homicides proved by circumstance evidence can be endless but these evidence must always be narrowly examined, because sometimes evidence of these nature can be fabricated to cast suspicion on another. Just like the Biblical example where Joseph commended his steward saying “put my cup, the Silver cup in the sack’s mouth of the youngest and where the cup was found there, Benjamin’s brother too nasty assumed that he must have stolen if (Genesis 44.2). It is also necessary before drawing the inference of the accused’s guilt from circumstantial evidence to be sure that there are no other co-existing circumstance which would weaken or destroy the inference.
Nkechi Bright – Ewere