Legal Principles – Nigerian LawCompass

Evidence Law Important

EVIDENCE LAW — Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt — Benefit of Doubt Must Extend to All Accused Where Evidence Is Inseparable

"Where the evidence against two accused persons in a criminal case is in all material respect the same and a doubt is resolved by the trial Judge in favour of...

Evidence Law Important

EVIDENCE LAW — Burden of Proof — Standard of Proof in Declaration of Title Claims — Proof by Preponderance of Evidence

"We are not unmindful of the fact that it is a well established principle of law that in a claim for declaration of title, the onus is always on the...

Criminal Law Important

CRIMINAL LAW — Defences — Insanity — Burden and Standard of Proof of Insanity

"Therefore, an accused person who pleads insanity as a defence to an offence with which he is charged has the burden of proving that he was suffering from insanity or...

Damages and Remedies Important

DAMAGES AND REMEDIES — Special Damages — Strict Proof Required for Special Damages

"Special damages must be pleaded with distinct particularity and strictly proved and a court is not entitled to make an award of special damages based on conjecture or on some...

Criminal Law Important

CRIMINAL LAW – Proof of offences – Standard and burden of proof

"In a criminal trial, it is unsafe to base a conviction on speculative findings based not on what the appellant did but on what he ought to have done."

Criminal Law Important

CRIMINAL LAW – Standard of Proof – Prosecution Must Prove Guilt Beyond Reasonable Doubt

"It is a cardinal principle of justice that conviction could only follow where the charge against an accused person has been proved beyond any reasonable doubt… it is the duty...

Evidence Law Important

EVIDENCE LAW — Standard of Proof — Civil Cases Involving Allegations of Crime

"Although the case is entirely civil, and in civil matters the preponderance of probability may constitute sufficient ground for a verdict, this general rule is subject to the statutory provision...

Civil Procedure Important

CIVIL PROCEDURE — Customary Courts — Standard of Proof in Claims for Declaration of Title to Land

"It must be recognised, however, that a claim for a declaration of title is none other than a civil case and by the general principle governing civil matters, proof is...

Evidence Law Important

EVIDENCE LAW — Standard of Proof — Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt — Meaning

"Proof beyond reasonable doubt means no more than what it says and needs not attain the degree of absolute certainty although it must attain a high degree of probability. That...

Criminal Law Important

CRIMINAL LAW — Theft — Standard of Proof — Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt Required for Criminal Allegations in Disciplinary Proceedings

"This apart, the allegation against the respondent involved commission of a crime which raised the onus to that of proof beyond reasonable doubt on the appellant. This is a condition...

Criminal Law Important

CRIMINAL LAW — Proof — Circumstantial Evidence — Standard Required

"Circumstantial evidence is very often the best. It is evidence of surrounding circumstances which, by undesigned coincidence, is capable of proving a proposition with the accuracy of mathematics. It is...

Evidence Law Important

EVIDENCE LAW – Circumstantial Evidence – Standard Required for Conviction

"Before circumstantial evidence can form the basis for conviction the circumstances must clearly and forcibly suggest that the accused was the person who committed the offence and that no one...