ALHAJI MURTALA SHINKAFI & MAINASARA SHINKAFI INVESTMENT NIG LTD V. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

MOHAMMED LAWAL GARBA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The Appellants were arraigned before the High Court of Lagos State in a five (5) counts charge No. LCD/52/09 for offences of issuing dud cheques to Nzuiben Nig. Ltd. contrary to Section 1(1) of the Dishonoured Cheques Offences Act, Cap D11, Laws of the Federation (Cap D11 after now).

At the close of the evidence adduced by the prosecution at the trial, the Appellants' Counsel made no case submission for the Appellants, on all the counts for the 1st Appellant and on count five (5) for the two (2) Appellants. The fulcrum of the submission of a case to answer was that the evidence adduced by the prosecution did not establish that the 1st Appellant was the drawer/issuer of the dud cheques in the counts of the charge while no dud cheque was put in evidence in support of count five (5) because the cheque admitted in evidence was not the one mentioned in the count.

​In a Ruling delivered on the 7th May, 2015, the High Court overru…