LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL LAW — Circumstantial Evidence — When Sufficient to Ground Conviction
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Where the appellant was the last person to be seen in the deceased's company and circumstantial evidence is overwhelming and leads to no other conclusion, it leaves no room for acquittal.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Onu, JSC, in Emeka v. State (2001) NLC-72000(SC) at p. 12; Paras A–B.
"Where as in the instant case, the appellant was the last person to be seen in the deceased's company and circumstantial evidence is not only overwhelming but leads to no other conclusion, it leaves no room for acquittal."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Circumstantial evidence can sustain a conviction when it is overwhelming and leads irresistibly to the conclusion of guilt. The “last seen” doctrine is a recognised form of circumstantial evidence. If the accused was the last person with the deceased before death, and no other explanation accounts for the death, the inference of guilt is strong. The evidence must exclude all reasonable hypotheses consistent with innocence. The court must be satisfied that the circumstances are incompatible with innocence. The principle applies when direct evidence is unavailable. The chain of circumstances must be complete and unbroken. The rule ensures that guilty persons are not acquitted solely because no eyewitness exists.