CONFESSIONAL STATEMENT IN RELATION TO AN ACCUSSED PERSON

• Date: 24 January 2019

(1) "The premium laid on confessional statement is very weighty. The justification is not far fetched because, it is long settled that an accused person can be convicted solely on his confessional statement, if made voluntarily and it is fully consistent and probable; this requirement, although conclusive, it is however desirable to have outside the confession some evidence, be it slight, of circumstances which make it probable that the confession was true. The general application of the law as firmly established is that the Court can convict an accused based on his confessional statement and that such confession does not need to be corroborated if it meets the requirements of the law. Section 27(1) of the Evidence Act (supra) is in point and also the judicial authorities in Hassan v. The State (2001) 6 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 709) 286; Kim v. The State (1992) 4 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 233) 17 at 25 and Amusa v. The State (2002) 2 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 750) 73 - 93. See also Ntaha v. State (1972) 4 S.C. p. 1; Ikemson v. State (1989) 3 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 110) P. 455 and Saidu v. State (1982) 4 S.C. p. 41." - Per Ogunbiyi, J.S.C., in Alo v. State Suit No. S.C. 404/2010; (2015) 9 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 1464) 238 at 267 - 268.

(2) "By virtue of section 27(1) and (2) of the Evidence Act a confessional statement is an admission made at any time by a person charged with certain offences stating or suggesting that he committed the offences." - Per M.D. Muhammad, J.S.C., in Abdullahi v. State Suit No. S.C. 247/2010; (2013) 11 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 1366) 435 at 454.

(3) "Section 27 (1) of the Evidence Act states that: "A confession is an admission made at anytime by a person charged with a crime, stating or suggesting the inference that he committed that crime." See: Ogucha v. Queen (1959) N.S.C.C. Vol. 1 pg. 50, (1959) S.C.N.L.R. 154. Statements which are direct acknowledgement of guilt ought to be regarded as confessions. There must be clear acknowledgement of guilt before an admission would amount to a confession. Put in another way, a confession is a voluntary admission by a person of his participation in a crime and a trial Court can convict on a confessional statement of an accused person." - Per Rhodes-Vivour, J.S.C., in State v. Salawu Suit No. S.C. 352/2009; (2011) 18 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 1279) 883 at 922.

(4) "A confessional statement is different from evidence given by a witness in Court. While a confessional statement is a pre-trial matter, made by an accused person mostly in pre-trial custody, evidence given by a witness in Court is before the face of the trial Court. One cannot be substituted for the other. The mere fact that the contents by way of facts of both are similar or the same, do not in law make them the same as the legal incidents of acceptability or otherwise of the two are quite different. In confessional statements, the test is its voluntary nature. In evidence in Court, the test is relevance, veracity or authenticity." - Per Tobi, J.S.C., in Arogundare v....