Trigger happy police is not good police force – Supreme Court

STATEMENT OF OFFENCE   Murder Contrary to Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap. 30 Vol. II – Laws of Eastern Nigeria 1963 as applicable to Imo State.  PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE  Inspector David Police Sgt. Lazarus Adiele, Cpl. Desmond  Ononuju, Inspector Victor Chiaka, PC Augustine Ochiaga, Inspector Sunday Uwadiegwu and Bonny Aikhadueki on the […]

STATEMENT OF OFFENCE
  Murder Contrary to Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap. 30 Vol. II – Laws of Eastern Nigeria 1963 as applicable to Imo State.
 
PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE
 Inspector David Police Sgt. Lazarus Adiele, Cpl. Desmond  Ononuju, Inspector Victor Chiaka, PC Augustine Ochiaga, Inspector Sunday Uwadiegwu and Bonny Aikhadueki on the 15th day of August 2002 along Orlu Road Junction by Mgbidi in Orlu Judicial Division murdered Christian Owerreoma. Each pleaded not guilty and the case proceeded to be heard with the prosecution calling five witnesses while the accused persons testified on their own behalf but did not call any witnesses. At the conclusion of the trial and in his judgment the learned trial Judge Njemanze J. found not guilty and discharged and acquitted the 1st, 4th and 5th accused persons while convicting and sentencing to death by hanging the 2nd, 3rd and 6th accused persons.  
An appeal against their conviction and sentence  wherein the 3rd accused at the High Court, Corporal Desmond Ononuju was the 2nd Appellant at the Court below was dismissed and the conviction and sentence of death by the High Court was affirmed by the Court below. This is a further appeal to this court by Corporal Desmond Ononuju against his conviction and sentence of death by the trial court. It is pertinent to consider at this stage and in a nutshell the evidence of PW 2 – Boniface Ozumba which is fairly representative of the case for the prosecution at the High Court. His evidence was that he was travelling in his Nissan Car with registration number CY 926 AA with his brother in law one Christian Owerreoma on the 15th August, 2002 when they arrived at a checkpoint along Orlu Road Junction by Mgbidi. No sooner however had they left the checkpoint than they were chased by police officers from that check point in their ALGON Jeep. At the approach to the next checkpoint which was manned by mobile policemen, one of the policemen in the ALGON Jeep by name Inspector Uwadiegwu raised an alarm that PW 2 and his brother in law Christian Owerreoma were thieves and the said Inspector Uwadiegwu and other policemen in the ALGON Jeep began to shoot at PW2’s car, prompting the mobile policemen at the next checkpoint to also start shooting at PW 2’s car. PW 2 and Christian Owerreoma were severely wounded and were taken to the White Rose Hospital Mgbidi where Christian Owerreoma was pronounced dead. The defence of both sets of policemen at their trial was that they had thought that PW 2 and the deceased Christian Owerreoma were armed robbers as they had refused to stop their car at the regular police check point for routine check. They all however denied shooting at the deceased’s car. These are the brief facts of the case which have given rise to this appeal.
    PW 2 Boniface Ozumba it was who drove the red  Nissan car in which the deceased Christian Owerreoma was seated on the 15th August, 2002 when it was allegedly shot at by the Appellant and other policemen. It is being submitted on behalf of the Appellant Cpl. Desmond Ononuju who was third accused person at the trial in the High Court that Statements made by him (PW 2) to the police on the 15th August, 2002, 17th August, 2002 and 28th August, 2002 are materially contradictory to his oral evidence on oath in court in the course of trial. Recourse must now be had to the Records. What Boniface Ozuaba, known also as Boniface Ozumba said in his statement to the police – “1 was in a haste with my in-law which made me not to stop when the police stopped me near Nempi. I did not know that the policemen were pursuing me after I refused to stop near Nempi. Again I was in a speed when I was stopped by the police. The particulars of the vehicle are in the vehicle.”  
Equally contradictory materially to his statement to the Police on the 28th August, 2002 that reaching Mgbidi Uli road he saw the police ALGON jeep following his car. He did not stop and continued to move is his evidence in court that, “At Mgbidi Eziala Road, he saw the policemen who stopped him. He stopped. The Police were with the police Official vehicle ALGON Jeep. One of them came and looked    inside the vehicle and saw that he was in the vehicle with only    Christian Owerreoma. He motioned on him to continue his Journey which he did until he got to a place where the mobile policemen were also on check. He stopped. As he did so the policemen in the ALGON Jeep stopped behind his vehicle and immediately started to fire at his vehicle. He drove off stopping after about two poles. As he stopped the policemen in the ALGON jeep stopped behind him and a search by them of his vehicle revealed nothing.
 The principle is well established in our criminal law that any doubt as to the guilt of the accused, arising from contradictions in the evidence adduced by the prosecution on material issues must be resolved in favour of the accused.
Something must now be said about the investigation or lack of same carried out in this case and the standard of prosecution.
Appellant had said in his statement to the police that he did not expend the ammunition given to him on the day of the incident and returned same intact. In his statement to the police under caution on the 5th September, 2002, the Appellant Desmond Ononuju said as follows, “I signed AK 47 with 20 rounds of L. ammunition and returned it completely. In another statement to the police Appellant further elaborated on this same point of hand over of  rifle and ammunition in these words, “The AK rifle I collected with twenty (20) rounds of live ammunition was returned after my twenty four (24) hours duty without any complaint. This is all. The entire rifles used at the checking point was signed from the armory by Sgt. Jude Onyedu and was returned to armory  through him.” This is a very serious statement which if proved to be correct would certainly exonerate the Appellant from blame and how was it handled by the team of prosecutors? PW 3 Assistant Superintendent of Police Nathaniel Onobi said he investigated the case of murder in which the Appellant and others are standing trial in this case. His evidence in court that is germane to this point of armament is reproduced as follows,” At the Mgbidi Police Station I checked from the armory section to find out the calibre of arms and ammunition the 2nd accused Sunday Uwadiegwu and one Sgt. Kingsley were issued with. I discovered that the 2nd accused was issued with a Lar Riffle with 20 rounds of ammunition. Inspector Sunday Uwadiegwu (deceased) was issued with one Barreta Pistol with 6 rounds of ammunition and Sgt. Kingsley Ohiengbomu was issued with AK 47 riffle with 20 rounds of ammunition. I observed that late Inspector Sunday Uwadiegwu  expended one ammunition. I collected the arms and registered them at the Zonal C.LD. Umuahia. This is the Lar riffle which was issued to the 2nd accused.”
 PW 3 continued to say as follows, “My investigation took me to Mgbidi Road Block mounted by the mobilemen to check the state of arms. The mobilemen were 3rd Accused (Appellant in this appeal), 4th Accused, 5th Accused and 6th Accused. I discovered that the mobilemen had no system of identifying the handing over and taking over of arms.” (underlining mine for emphasis)
A proper and thorough investigation would have found out what caliber of arms and ammunition that were issued out to not just the 2nd accused Sunday Uwadiegwu (now deceased) and Sgt. Kingsley. A proper and more thorough investigation would have found out not just that Inspector Sunday Uwadiegwu expended one ammunition but also the number of ammunition if any, expended by each of the accused persons. No mention was made of the Appellant having expended any ammunition.

To be continued