LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW — Presumptions — Withholding of Evidence — Section 149(d) Evidence Act
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
The absence of crucial medical evidence and failure to tender the medical certificate of death raise serious doubts as to the cause of death, which ought to be resolved in favour of the accused, under section 149(d) of the Evidence Act.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Onu, JSC, in Aiguobaruoghian & Anor v. State (2004) NLC-2942002(SC) at p. 9; Paras A–B.
"The absence of the crucial medical evidence from UBTH and failure to tender the medical certificate of death raise serious doubts as to the cause of death, which ought to be resolved in favour of the 1st appellant. See section 149(d) of the Evidence Act, Cap. 112, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Section 149(d) of the Evidence Act provides that the court may presume that evidence which could be produced and is not produced would be unfavourable to the party who withholds it. In homicide cases, where the prosecution fails to tender available medical records, death certificates, or testimony from treating physicians, the court may presume such evidence would have harmed the prosecution’s case. This serves encouraging full disclosure and penalizing selective presentation of evidence. The court cannot ignore the prosecution’s failure to produce readily available crucial medical documentation; such failure raises reasonable doubt resolvable in favour of the accused.