SOWEMIMO, AG. J.S.C.(Delivering the Leading Judgment):The appellant in this case was convicted by Aniagolu, J. at the session of the High Court of Umuahia, on the 1st of June, 1971, and sentenced to death. His appeal against his conviction was heard on the 29th of November, 1971 and was dismissed. As we indicated then, we now give our reasons for so doing.
The appellant with two others were previously charged with the offence. One of them died before the Preliminary Inquiry at the Magistrate's Court, and another one died before the trial in the High Court after he had been committed for trial by the Magistrate's Court.
Briefly, the facts were that one Evaristus Emereonye, who ran away and whose whereabouts are unknown till date, went to the residence of one Christopher Onyeaguma on the 10th of March, 1970, at about 5 a.m., At that time, Christopher Onyeaguma (later deceased) had come to stay with his sister for some days because the latter had just given birth to a child. This sister …