EVIDENCE LAW — Previous Proceedings — Admissibility of Evidence from Earlier Proceedings — Conditions Under Section 34(1) of Evidence Act
Ratio Decidendi
Per Aderemi, JSC, in Yusuf v. Adegoke & Anor (2007) NLC-123-15-2002(SC) at pp. 22–23; Paras A–C:
"Evidence given by a witness in a judicial proceeding, or before any person authorised by law to take it, is relevant for the purpose of proving, in a subsequent judicial proceeding, or in a later stage of the same judicial proceeding, the truth of the fact which it states, when the witness is dead or cannot be found, or is incapable of giving evidence, or is kept out of the way by the adverse party, or when his presence cannot be obtained without an amount of delay or expense which, in the circumstances of the case, the court considers unreasonable."
Explanation / Scope
This principle is an exception to the hearsay rule. The admissibility of previous testimony is conditional upon the unavailability of the witness under the prescribed circumstances. The party seeking to tender such evidence must lay the necessary foundation by proving one of the statutory conditions. The court must exercise its discretion judiciously in determining whether the delay or expense of procuring the witness is unreasonable.