LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL LAW – Threatening to Kill – Meaning of “Threatening to Kill” – Warning of Third Party’s Threat Not Sufficient
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
A warning by the writer of a letter, even if it is false and mischievous, that a third person is threatening to kill the person to whom the letter is sent, is not a 'writing threatening to kill'.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Ayoola, JSC, in Ubanatu v. Commissioner of Police (2000) NLC-691999(SC) at p. 21; Paras D–E.
"A warning by the writer of a letter, even if it is false and mischievous, that a third person is threatening to kill the person to whom the letter is sent, is not a 'writing threatening to kill'."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
A letter warning the recipient that a third party intends to kill them does not constitute a threat to kill under section 323, even if the warning is false or malicious. The statutory offence requires the writer themselves to issue the threat. Merely conveying another’s alleged intent does not amount to a personal threat. This distinction preserves the mens rea element—the accused must intend to threaten, not merely inform. Mischievous warnings may attract other offences but not the specific crime of threatening to kill.