T. O. ELIAS, C.J.N. (Delivering the leading judgment): At the High Court of the Ubiaja Judicial Division in the Mid-Western State, the accused was convicted on 24th December, 1971 of the murder of one Theresa Godwin, contrary to section 257(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 28, Vol. 1 of the Laws of Western State 1959, applicable in the Mid-Western State and sentenced to death. We heard and allowed the appeal on 19th October, 1972, and now give our reasons therefore.
The facts of the case may be summarised as follows. The evidence of Raphael Egbeade (5th prosecution witness), the only witness called by the prosecution as to the identity of the accused, was that, at about 5 a.m. on 31st December, 1969, as he lay in bed in his house, he heard the voice of someone crying outside and saying "Onogie has killed me, Obade has killed me." As the noise was coming nearer and nearer, he went to open his door and saw the accused (the Onogie) carrying somebody on his shoulder; the accused quickly dump…