LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW — Child Witness — Competence — Test Not Age but Intellectual Capacity
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
All persons irrespective of age are competent to testify provided they have mental capacity and intelligence to understand questions put to them. Competency is not a matter of age but intellectual capacity.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Edozie, JSC, in Solola & Anor v. State (2005) NLC-2682003(SC) at pp. 11–12; Paras E–B.
"The effect of the section is that all persons irrespective of age are competent to testify in court provided they have the mental capacity and the intelligence to understand questions put to them… Competency is not a matter of age but that of intellectual capacity."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Child witness competence depends on intellectual capacity, not age. The court must assess understanding. The principle applies to evidence law.