IWUANYANWU V. THE STATE

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292

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NIGERIAN SUPREME COURT CASES

[1964] N.S.C.C.

truth lies the verdict should be not guilty, and this is as true of an issue as to

self-defence as it is to one of provocation, though of course the latter plea goes

only to a mitigation of the offence."

In the light of the law, the appellants, who chose to set up a defence of alibi,

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cannot complain on the ground that the trial judge did not speculate on the possi-

bility of an 'accidental' fall inside the second appellant's house, and they cannot

invite this court to speculate on it either. What this Court has to consider is whether

the conviction was unreasonable or could not be supported having regard to the

evidence.

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Put very briefly, the evidence was that in the afternoon the deceased was seen

sitting with the appellants outside the second appellant's house; towards dusk there

was the noise of an intense struggle inside the house, and next after that the cor-

pse of the deceased was brought out by the two appellants and two others; short-

ly after, they wheeled the body onto the road and left it lying there, where it was

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found at about 8.30 p.m. lying on its side with a bicycle on top of it; and the defence

of the appellants was an alibi which was untrue. In our opinion they were rightly

convicted upon the evidence of murdering the deceased.

It is ordered that the appeals of both appellants from the decision of the High

Court at Calabar dated 26th June, 1964, in Charge No. C/47C/1963 be and they

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are hereby dismissed.

Appeal dismissed.

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IWUANYANWU V. THE STATE

CLEMENT IWUANYANWU

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APPELLANT

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V

THE STATE

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RESPONDENT

SUIT NO. SC 473/1964

SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA

BAIRAMIAN,

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J.S.C.

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ONYEAMA,

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J.S.C.

COKER,

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J.S.C.

23rd December, 1964

Legislation - Criminal Code, s.28 (second paragraph)

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Criminal Law - Insanity - Delusion - Defendant killing to prevent being killed

in the future by juju.

ISSUE:

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1. Can a defendant who kills a person to prevent himself being killed in the future

by the deceased's juju plead insane delusion as a defence.

FACTS:

The defendant waylaid the deceased and deliberately killed him. He said that

some time previously the deceased told him he would kill him at night by evil spirits

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if he did not go home. The defence was insanity. The defendant had been ill

twice: he was moody and ate sand; the last time was a year before the killing. The

trial judge thought that the defence of insanity did not arise under the first para-

graph of s.28: he held that although the defendant was suffering from delusions