LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW – Circumstantial Evidence – Conditions for Conviction
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
A conviction on circumstantial evidence cannot be based unless and until all the inferences to be drawn from the whole history of the case point strongly to the commission of the crime by the accused.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Mohammed, JSC, in Durwode v. State (2000) NLC-222000(SC) at p. 5; Paras C–D.
"A conviction on circumstantial evidence cannot be based unless and until all the inferences to be drawn from the whole history of the case point strongly to the commission of the crime by the accused."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Circumstantial evidence alone may support conviction, but only where all reasonable inferences point irresistibly to the accused’s guilt. The court must consider the entire history of the case—not isolated facts. If any other inference consistent with innocence is reasonably possible, conviction cannot stand. The standard is not merely probability but the absence of any other plausible explanation. This ensures that guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt even without direct evidence. The circumstantial chain must be unbroken and unequivocal.