LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW — Documentary Evidence — Comparison of Signatures — Court’s Power to Compare Disputed and Admitted Signatures Under Section 108 of the Evidence Act
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Under Section 108 of the Evidence Act, a court has the power to compare disputed signatures with admitted signatures to determine authenticity, and an appellate court may do the same where the trial court failed.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Uwaifo, JSC, in Adenle v. Olude (2002) NLC-1341998(SC) at p. 9; Paras D–E.
"A court must take all relevant evidence before it into account in the resolution of the questions arising from the case it has to decide. In doing so, it must also take into cognizance the relevant provisions of the Evidence Act and all other appropriate statutes which have a bearing on the proper decision of the case. The court below was, in my view, correct in pointing out what the learned trial Judge obviously failed to do to compare the admitted signature with the disputed signature of D.W.1. It was crucial to the justice of the case as the D.W.1 denied signing Exhibit C which is a documentary evidence constituting the foundation of the respondent's case. In my opinion, the court below was right in doing the necessary comparison."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Section 108 of the Evidence Act empowers the court to compare disputed signatures with admitted signatures. The court may do this without expert evidence, though expert evidence may also be used. An appellate court may make the comparison if the trial court failed to do so. The comparison is a matter of judicial observation. The principle assists in determining document authenticity. The court must exercise care in comparing signatures. The power is discretionary. The rule applies to both criminal and civil proceedings. The comparison is not conclusive but is a factor in the overall assessment. The court may also consider other evidence.