YUNUSA ADAMU & ORS. V. THE STATE

• Pages: 49-57

YUNUSA ADAMU & ORS. V. THE STATE



49

YUNUSA ADAMU & ORS. V. THE STATE

5

1.

YUNUSA ADAMU

2.

ABDULLAHI SHEHU

10 3, GERALDO ALION

4.

EZE OKAFOR

5.

ROMANUS JOHN

V.

THE STATE

15

APPELLANTS

RESPONDENT.

APPEAL No. SC. 168/1990.

SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA

20



OBASEKI,



J.S.C.

KARIBI-WHYTE,

KAWU,



J,S.C.

BELGORE,



J.S.C.

NNAEMEKA-AGU, J.S.C.

25

7th June, 1991.

Criminal Law and Procedure - Robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery under the

Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Decree No.47 of 1970 - Conviction and

sentence for - Formal identification parade - Dispensing therewith.

Evidence - Presumption of guilty possession of recently stolen goods under section 148(a)

(now section 149(a) of the Evidence Act Cap.119, 1990 Laws of the Federation -

Application of

Interpretation and construction - Sections 138(1) and 148(a) (now section 149(a))

Evidence Act cap.119, 1990 Laws of the Federation - Robbery and Firearms (Special

Provisions) Decree No.47 of 1970 - The Lagos State Criminal Code (Amendment

No.1) Law 1980.

40

ISSUES:

1.

When may formal identification parade be dispensed with in a criminal trial?

2.

When would a trial court be said to have evaluated the evidence before it in a

case?

45 3. Whether the provisions of a statute can be applied retrospectively.

FACTS:

The appellants were convicted and sentenced to twenty-one years imprison-

ment by a Lagos High Court on each of the two counts under the Robbery and

50

Firearms (Special Provisions) Decree No. 47 of 1970 for conspiracy to commit

robbery and for robbery respectively. The accused persons were originally six in

number but one of them, Rowland Uche died before trial and his name was struck

off the list of the accused persons. On 13/10/78, a Datsun 180k saloon car

30

35