LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL LAW — Defences — Provocation — Provocation Must Come from Person Killed
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
For provocation to succeed as a defence, the provocation must come from the person who is killed or the person whom the accused intended to kill; provocation from one person does not justify killing another.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Onu, JSC, quoting the trial court, in Nwambe v. The State (1995) NLC-1091994(SC) at p. 17; Paras. D–E.
"for provocation to succeed as a defence, the said provocation must move from or be offered by the person who is in fact killed or the person who the prisoner intended to kill. It would be stretching the law to a dangerous extent to say that provocation from one person would justify the killing of another."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Provocation is a partial defence that reduces murder to manslaughter. It requires that the provocative act or insult came from the deceased. Killing a third party in response to provocation from another does not qualify. The principle prevents the defence from being used to justify killing an innocent person. The prosecution must prove that the deceased was not the provoker. The court will examine the relationship between the provocation and the killing. The rule is well-established in English and Nigerian law. The defence fails if the provocation came from a different person.