G. S. SOWEMIMO, J.S.C (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The appellant was convicted and sentenced to death by Craig, J., at Ado-Ekiti in the Ekiti Judicial Divison of the High Court of Western State on 19th of October, 1970. He appealed to the Western State Court of Appeal who dismissed his appeal. He has now appealed to this court against the judgment of that court.
The fact as to the killing of the deceased, who was the wife of the appellant, is not in dispute. He, the appellant, admitted that his wife died as a result of gun shot wound which according to him was accidental. He admitted striking the deceased with the flat side of his matchet but denied inflicting the matchet cuts found on the deceased. Although the appellant's defence was that the death of the deceased was accidental, the argument which was addressed to us, and which was also canvassed at the Western State Court of Appeal, was that the appellant was provoked and that defence was not considered by the learned trial …