LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — Rights of Accused — Confessional Statement — Mixed Statement Containing Incriminating and Exculpatory Parts — Duty of Court
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Where a statement contains both incriminating and exculpatory parts, the court must consider the whole statement together and cannot pick and choose only the incriminating parts while disregarding the exculpatory aspects. The exculpatory parts must be accorded the same weight.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Onu, JSC, in Damina v. The State (1995) NLC-1191994(SC) at p. 23; Paras. A–C.
"Where a statement contains both incriminating and exculpatory or self-serving parts, the court must consider the whole statement together and cannot pick and choose only the incriminating parts while disregarding the exculpatory aspects. The exculpatory parts must be accorded the same weight as the incriminating parts, and the court must consider whether, taken as a whole, the statement amounts to a confession."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
A mixed statement must be considered as a whole. The court cannot selectively accept incriminating parts while ignoring exculpatory parts. The principle applies to all statements. The exculpatory parts are evidence for the accused. The court must determine whether the statement amounts to a confession when read as a whole. The rule protects the accused from partial reliance. The prosecution cannot rely only on favourable parts. The court must evaluate the statement in its entirety.