LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL LAW — Defences — Alibi — Common Defence Avails All Accused
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Where persons who are charged together for committing a crime have a common base for their defence, the acceptance of the defence to the benefit of one of them should also result in its acceptance for the benefit of others.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Edozie, JSC, in Aiguobaruoghian & Anor v. State (2004) NLC-2942002(SC) at p. 43; Paras D–E.
"Where persons who are charged together for committing a crime have a common base for their defence, the acceptance of the defence to the benefit of one of them should also result in its acceptance for the benefit of others."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
When co-accused persons share a common defence (such as alibi or causation), and the court accepts that defence for one co-accused, consistency requires accepting it for the others as well. The prosecution cannot have the defence rejected for one while accepted for another when the factual basis is identical. This serves ensuring consistent application of evidence and avoiding contradictory verdicts. The court cannot accept a common defence for one co-accused while rejecting it for another without a rational basis for distinction. This principle applies particularly where the defence goes to the very actus reus or causation of the offence, as in the lead case where medical evidence failed to establish causation for either appellant.