LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — No-Case Submission — Grounds for Upholding a No Case Submission
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
A submission of "no case" to answer may be properly made and upheld: (1) when there has been no evidence to prove an essential element in the alleged offence; or (2) when the evidence adduced by the prosecution has been so discredited as a result of cross-examination or is so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable tribunal could safely convict on it.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Kutigi, JSC, in Ajiboye & Anor v. The State (1995) NLC-2041994(SC) at p. 5; Paras. D–E.
"A submission of 'no case' to answer may be properly made and upheld in the following circumstances: 1. When there has been no evidence to prove an essential element in the alleged offence; 2. When the evidence adduced by the prosecution has been so discredited as a result of cross-examination or is so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable tribunal could safely convict on it."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
A no-case submission succeeds if there is no evidence on an essential element, or if the evidence is so discredited that no reasonable tribunal could convict. The principle applies to all criminal trials. The court must evaluate the evidence at its highest. The rule protects the accused from being called to answer where the prosecution’s case is manifestly weak. The court will uphold the submission if the evidence is inherently unreliable.