KUMO V. THE STATE

• Pages: 286-289

286

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NIGERIAN SUPREME COURT CASES

[1967] N.S.C.C.

Mr. Coker for the prisoner has submitted that the power given by S.27(1) ought

only to be exercised where the offences are connected. He argued, that, as not

only some but all the counts of stealing were to be quashed, it was not a proper

case for the exercise of the power. There is no authority for that aurgument. More-

over it seems to us that all the offences were connected: they were a series of fraud

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with a nexus between the unttering of the forged cheques and the withdrawing of

money out of the account which was fed with the forged cheques, and that is why

there is a set of counts in one information. We cannot see in S.27(1) any such

limitation in law as Mr. Coker has argued for. Moreover the facts do not enable

the argument to be raised.

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In our view this a proper case in which we ought to exercise the powers con-

ferred on the Supreme Court by S.27(1); having regard to the prisoner's repeated

offences and the amounts involved, we cannot allow the prisoner to serve a sen-

tence of three years only.

As regards the counts of forgery and uttering the Court had not given leave to

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appeal, and it was a mistake on the part of the prisoner's counsel to insert grounds

of appeal on the facts in regard to those counts. We note that the prisoner gave

notice of appeal alleging that the decision was against the weight of evidence; he

had no right to give notice of appeal: what he should have done was to give no-

tice of application for leave to appeal on the ground that the decision was unrea-

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sonable or could not be supported having regard to the evidence. So far as the

counts of stealing were concerned the error was error of law and there was an ap-

peal as of right in regard to those counts, but that did not entitle the prisoner to ap-

peal on the counts of forgery and uttering in regard to the facts. On the facts he

was properly convicted.

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It is ordered that the conviction on counts 1, 4, 7, 10 and 13 on forgery, and

counts 2, 5, 8, 11 and 14 on uttering, shall stand; and as regards sentence, it is

ordered, in substitution for the sentence passed by the High Court, that the term

on each one of those counts shall be six years and that all the terms shall run con-

currently so that the whole sentence shall be six years.

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As to counts 3, 6, 12, 15 and 16 which relate to stealing, the appeal is allowed:

the conviction and sentence on each of them is quashed and a verdict of acquit-

tal shall be entered.

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KUNIO V. THE STATE

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ADAMU KUMO

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APPELLANT

V

THE STATE

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RESPONDENT

SUIT NO. SC 354/1967

SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA

BAIRAMIAN,

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J.S.C.

LEWIS,

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J.S.C.

MADARIKAN,

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J.S.C.

14th December, 1967

Criminal Law - Penal Code (N.N.) section 222(1), 224 - Culpable Homicide

punishable with death - Provocation - Calling a Moslem a Pagan - Effect of

insult on ordinal)

,

reasonable person of defendant's class - Evidence of effect

desirable

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