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56 judgments found.
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March 2026
Conviction quashed due to material inconsistencies, unreliable medical evidence, and failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — medical evidence
— delay in reporting
— discrepancies in cause and timing
Criminal law — sexual offences — reliance on victim's testimony — credibility and probative value
13 March 2026
The applicants' convictions were quashed due to unsafe visual identification, broken chain of custody, and uncorroborated confessions.
Criminal law — Doctrine of recent/constructive possession
— Proof beyond reasonable doubt
— reliance on properly identified exhibits
Criminal law — Evidence
— cautioned/confessional statements — requirement of independent corroboration
— chain of custody — identification of suspected stolen property
Criminal law — Visual identification — safety of identification evidence
13 March 2026
Convictions quashed where inadmissible evidence, contradictory arrest testimony and a fabricated confession undermined proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — Requirement that proved facts exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence
— Committal and documentary evidence — Admissibility of documentary evidence not disclosed at committal — Leave required for admission
— Oral confession — admissibility and voluntariness — Effect of contradictions and a finding of fabrication on reliability
13 March 2026
Conviction quashed where confessions and key testimony were inadmissible and remaining evidence was insufficient.
Criminal law — confession — cautioned statement and oral confession inadmissible if involuntary
Criminal law — extra-judicial statements
— compliance with Chief Justice's Circular required
— insufficiency of circumstantial evidence
Criminal law — Murder — proof beyond reasonable doubt
9 March 2026
Conviction quashed where material witness contradictions and a defective cautioned statement undermined proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — proof beyond reasonable doubt — material contradictions in prosecution evidence — inadmissible/defective cautioned statement — conviction unsafe
9 March 2026
A guilty plea disputed by the accused must be vacated; failure vitiates proceedings and warrants quashing.
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty
9 March 2026
Conviction quashed where identity of victim, chain of custody and material witness evidence were not established.
Criminal law — Murder
— adverse inference
— chain of custody of exhibits
— Failure to call material witnesses
— circumstantial evidence
— identity of deceased
— proof beyond reasonable doubt
— reliability of cautioned statement
9 March 2026
Variance in victim's name during trial caused miscarriage of justice; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal law — sexual offences — Protection of victim identity
9 March 2026
Convictions nullified where trial and sentencing proceeded without statutorily required medical proof of appellants' ages.
Criminal procedure — Determination of accused's age
9 March 2026
Contradictory identification evidence, unexplained arrest delay and omission of material witnesses defeated the prosecution's case.
Criminal law — proof beyond reasonable doubt — contradictions in witness testimony going to the root of the case — Effect of witness contradictions and discrepancies on guilt
Evidence
— Failure to call material witnesses — adverse inference for failure to call material witnesses — Adverse inference and impact on prosecution's case
— Identification by recognition — Reliability of recognition identification, parade not mandatory where victim knew accused
9 March 2026
Proceedings nullified for lack of transfer order and defective DPP consent; conviction quashed and appellant released.
Criminal law — Dpp's consent under EOCCA
— conviction quashed and appellant released
— defective consent vitiates trial jurisdiction
— retrial discretionary where evidentiary gap renders retrial a miscarriage of justice
9 March 2026
Failure to properly appoint and swear an interpreter for a witness who does not understand the court language vitiated the trial; retrial ordered.
Interpreter requirement — section 227 CPA — duty of trial court to provide and properly swear interpreter — failure to record/swear interpreter to interpret between court language(s) and witness’s native language — inadmissibility of interpreted evidence — fatal irregularity — retrial ordered under section 6(2) AJA.
9 March 2026
Convictions quashed and release ordered because the amended charge was missing from the record, rendering the trial unfair.
Criminal procedure — Amended/substituted charge missing from record of appeal
— Conviction unsafe
— No retrial ordered
— Court’s revisional powers
— Right to be informed of charge
9 March 2026
Altered and unsubstituted charge sheet without formal amendment rendered trial a nullity, leading to quashing of conviction.
Criminal procedure — Amendment or substitution of charge — Defective charge invalidating trial — Material inconsistency in date of offence
9 March 2026
A material variance between the charge particulars and evidence requires amendment; failure to amend mandates acquittal.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — material variance between charge particulars (date) and prosecution evidence
5 March 2026
High Court cannot re-compose a quashed trial judgment; remittal for fresh judgment is required, conviction set aside.
Criminal procedure — Appeal by DPP
— limits where trial judgment has been quashed
— Power to re-evaluate evidence and reverse acquittal
Criminal procedure — remittal for fresh judgment — nullity of appellate re-composition of trial judgment
5 March 2026
Statutory rape conviction quashed for failure to prove perpetrator’s identity and non‑production of material witnesses.
Criminal law — sexual offences — statutory rape: requirement to prove age, penetration and identity of perpetrator — Requirement for positive proof of victim's age
Evidence — Non‑production of material witness — adverse inference where material witnesses not called
Evidential weight of medical (PF3) and witness testimony — Medical evidence (PF3) — PF3 admission
5 March 2026
Conviction based on incomplete circumstantial chain, defective seizure procedure, and non-production of material witnesses was unsafe.
Criminal law
— Circumstantial evidence — last person seen with deceased — alibi may create reasonable doubt
— Evidence — oral confessions — admissible but weak and require caution
— Evidence of seizure — certificate of seizure and seizing officer's testimony necessary to prove chain of custody
— Prosecution duty — call material witnesses or risk adverse inference
5 March 2026
Conviction quashed where identification, material witness contradictions and improperly admitted exhibits undermined the prosecution.
Criminal law — identification evidence
— application of Waziri Amani criteria
— Material contradictions in witnesses' accounts undermining credibility
Criminal law — Improper production of documentary exhibits (cautioned statement, PF3) — expunged
5 March 2026
Excluding an out-of-time cautioned statement did not defeat conviction supported by strong, unbroken circumstantial evidence.
Criminal law — Admissibility of cautioned statements
5 March 2026
Warrantless night search after an informer tip and a broken chain of custody led to expungement of exhibits and quashing of convictions.
Criminal law — Chain of custody
— documentation and continuity
— expungement of unlawfully obtained exhibits
— insufficiency of prosecution case leading to quashing of conviction
Criminal law — Search and seizure
— informer tip negating emergency exception
— night searches and court permission
— warrant requirement
5 March 2026
Conviction overturned where extra-judicial statement breached CJ Guidelines and nighttime visual identification was unsafe.
Criminal law — extra-judicial statements — Chief Justice’s Guidelines
Criminal law — Visual identification
— Circumstantial evidence insufficient where it only raises suspicion
— night-time identifications, source/intensity of light, duration and description essential
— Torch illumination by alleged culprits unreliable
5 March 2026
Convictions quashed: improper admission of post-mortem and material contradictions undermined proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Murder
— Admissibility of documentary evidence
— Reading exhibits before formal admission
— Unchallenged defence evidence
— Proof beyond reasonable doubt
— Visual identification
— Material contradictions in eyewitness testimony
5 March 2026
Excluding a child witness without hearing the accused violated the right to be heard and vitiated the conviction.
Criminal law — competence of child witness
4 March 2026
Failure to read substituted information and call accused to plead vitiates the trial; convictions quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — Amendment/substitution of information — Duty to read amended information and call accused to plead under s.276(1),(2) CPA — Fair trial — Remedy: quash conviction and remit for retrial
4 March 2026
The appellant's rape conviction was quashed due to inconsistent witness accounts and contradictory medical evidence creating reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — sexual offences against a child — Credibility of child complainant and corroboration by parent and medical evidence — Requirement to resolve contradictions and prove penetration beyond reasonable doubt
4 March 2026
Failure to deal with a court‑ordered mental examination vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and case remitted.
Appellate practice — Retrial — principles for ordering retrial (Fatehali Manji)
Criminal law — Criminal procedure act, s.220(1),(3),(4) — detention for medical examination
Criminal procedure — mental health examination report — omission to admit and consider report
4 March 2026
Conviction quashed where charge mis‑described consent element; omission prejudiced accused’s ability to defend.
Criminal law — sexual offences — Consent: requirement that absence of consent be proved beyond reasonable doubt
Criminal procedure — Charge particulars — curable
4 March 2026
Unsworn witness testimony vitiated the trial; the appellant's conviction was quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — mandatory oath/affirmation
Criminal procedure — Oaths and Judicial Proceedings Act and Rules
— prejudice to prosecution and defence
— right to defend
— unsworn testimony amounts to no evidence
Criminal procedure — retrial ordered — revisional jurisdiction
4 March 2026
Conviction based on uncorroborated dock identification and no link to arrest was unsafe; appeal allowed.
Criminal law — Armed robbery — Visual identification by single witness — Dock identification — Need to link witness descriptions to arrests
4 March 2026
Broken chain of custody, defective seizure documentation and missing exhibits made circumstantial and forensic evidence unreliable.
Criminal law — Forensic evidence and chain of custody
— Broken chain of custody and unexplained third-party sample undermine DNA report reliability
— non‑production of seized items weakens prosecution
— seizure certificate non‑compliance
4 March 2026
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove lawful destruction and inventory of perishable exhibits, undermining proof beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Evidence
— chain of custody and Police General Orders No. 229 on disposal of perishable exhibits — Section 36(1) DCEA
— chain of custody of exhibits — Proper labelling, registration and custody (Police General Orders 229)
Criminal law — forensic evidence — Admissibility where Government Chemist testifies in court
3 March 2026
Prosecution’s failure to call material witnesses and credibility doubts led to acquittal for alleged statutory rape.
Criminal law — sexual offences — statutory rape: requirement to prove age, penetration and identity of perpetrator
3 March 2026
Failure to provide an interpreter at committal and preliminary hearing invalidated the proceedings and convictions.
Criminal procedure
— Preliminary hearing — Procedural irregularity rendering proceedings nullity — Criminal Procedure Act s227(1) and s263(1)–(5)
— Committal proceedings — Conviction and sentence based on defective committal proceedings nullified — Order for fresh committal proceedings
3 March 2026
Conviction quashed where charge particulars were defective, cautioned statement inadmissible, and prosecution evidence unreliable.
Criminal law — Abduction charge
— inadmissibility of cautioned statement recorded outside statutory time limit
— mismatch between statutory provision (s133) and particulars
Criminal law — Rape
— adverse inference for failure to call material witnesses
— conviction quashed for unsafe evidence
— evaluation of complainant's credibility and probability
3 March 2026
Variance between charge (possession) and evidence (planting) vitiated the trial; conviction quashed and appellant released.
Criminal law — variance between charge and evidence — amendment of charge — planting of narcotic drugs versus possession — conviction quashed
2 March 2026
Variance between pleaded dates and evidence rendered charges defective; convictions quashed for failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Particulars of charge
2 March 2026
An unamended material variance between the charge sheet date and evidence renders the charge unproved under section 234 CPA.
Criminal law — Rape — Material variance between date in charge sheet and evidence
— acquittal and release ordered
— Duty to amend charge under section 234 Criminal Procedure Act
2 March 2026
Plea-taking procedure violated and foundational charge defective (rape vs incest); conviction quashed and immediate release ordered.
Criminal procedure — Defective charge
— rape
— Retrial not ordered where charge incurably defective and retrial would prejudice accused
Criminal procedure — plea of guilty — Compliance with section 245 CPA
— Equivocal plea where facts read cumulatively and admission recorded in aggregate
— Language comprehension and unrepresented accused
2 March 2026
Variance between charged particulars and evidence (vagina vs anal) without amendment prejudiced the accused; conviction quashed.
Criminal law — Grave sexual abuse — material variance between charge particulars and evidence (vagina vs anal) — prejudice to accused — conviction quashed
2 March 2026
Conviction quashed where cause of death was uncertain and post-mortem evidence was not produced, rendering circumstantial case unsafe.
Criminal law — Murder — Proof beyond reasonable doubt required
2 March 2026
Failure to inform the appellant of statutory committal rights vitiated the committal and quashed the conviction.
Criminal procedure — committal proceedings — failure vitiates committal and trial
— conviction and sentence quashed
— matter remitted for fresh committal
2 March 2026
Proceeding before receiving court-ordered psychiatric report prejudiced the accused; proceedings nullified and remitted.
Criminal law — Insanity defence
— failure prejudices fair trial
— nullification and remittal ordered
— Obligation to commit accused for psychiatric examination under s.220 CPA and await report before trial proceeds
2 March 2026
Material variance between charge date and evidence, together with substantive contradictions, rendered the appellant's conviction unsafe.
Criminal law — Sexual offences (incest) — Sufficiency of evidence — Necessity to amend charge per s 234 Criminal Procedure Act (now s 251), defect fatal to prosecution
Evidence — witness credibility and contradictions — Material discrepancies that go to the substance may render the prosecution's case unproven
2 March 2026
Material variance between charge and evidence rendered attempted rape unproven; conviction quashed; proper offence was grave sexual abuse.
Criminal law
— Attempted rape — requirement of intent and overt acts directed to penetration
— Grave sexual abuse (s.138C) — use of genital organ to rub another for sexual gratification
Criminal procedure
— Appeal — conviction quashed where evidence does not support charged offence
— Material variance between charge and evidence — duty to amend charge under s.234 CPA
2 March 2026
Convictions quashed where key extra‑judicial confession failed mandatory safeguards and corroboration was lacking.
Criminal law — extra‑judicial statements
— Chief Justice's Instructions compliance
— convictions quashed
— exclusion of non‑compliant evidence
Criminal law — Murder
— corroboration of co‑accused confessions
— reliance on confessions
— self‑exculpatory statements
2 March 2026
February 2026
Revision application was time‑barred under Rule 65(4); court struck it out for being filed after the sixty‑day period.
Civil procedure — Revision — Time runs from pronouncement, not from awareness
25 February 2026
Exhibits improperly admitted were expunged, but eyewitness evidence and recent possession sufficiently upheld conviction and sentence.
Criminal law — Evidence
Criminal law — exclusion does not automatically defeat prosecution where independent eyewitness testimony, seizure certificate and recent possession establish link
— chassis number not always necessary
— Identification of vehicle by registration particulars and registration card is sufficient
25 February 2026
Extrajudicial and cautioned confessions admissible and corroborated; conviction for murder upheld beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — admissibility of confessions — Chief Justice's Guidelines — item 6 administrative, not mandatory
— corroboration by extrajudicial confession, oral admission and eyewitness evidence
— extrajudicial statements recorded by Justice of the Peace
Criminal law — Murder
Criminal law — proof beyond reasonable doubt — confessions, eyewitness identification and post‑mortem evidence
25 February 2026
Extrajudicial and cautioned confessions corroborated by eyewitness and medical evidence can sustain a murder conviction.
Criminal law
— Murder — Confessions: admissibility of extrajudicial statements under Chief Justice’s Guidelines
— Retracted cautioned statements — Standard of proof: guilt proven beyond reasonable doubt — Death sentence affirmed
25 February 2026