From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The Enugu State High Court has overturned the conviction and one-year jail sentence handed to a legal practitioner, Chidiebere Agbo, who was earlier found guilty of providing false information to the police.
Delivering judgment in the appeal marked NO: CM/824C/2017 and EA/5CA/2021, Justice Kenneth Okpe ruled that the lower court failed to evaluate the entire body of evidence before arriving at its verdict.
He held that the Magistrate Court, presided over by D. K. Ekoh, erred by relying solely on the prosecution’s case and ignoring the defence evidence.
“The prosecution did not prove the elements of giving false information beyond reasonable doubt and he did not prove that there was an intent by the accused to give an information knowing it to be false.
“And the Court took the wrong view by relying solely on the evidence of the prosecution rather than evaluating the totality of the evidence before the Court, including the evidence of the defence,” Justice Okpe stated.
The lower court had, on November 18, 2020, found Agbo guilty on two counts and sentenced him to one-year imprisonment on each count, with a fine option of N25,000 on each. The sentences were to run concurrently.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Agbo appealed on two grounds, arguing that the decision was flawed in law and not supported by evidence. He later amended his appeal to include an additional ground, with the High Court granting leave for the changes and also allowing more time to file the necessary documents due to delays caused by a judiciary workers’ strike.
Agbo’s legal troubles stemmed from a land dispute. He held Power of Attorney for Dr. Kevin Ochin concerning a parcel of land along Airport Road, Enugu, which is registered in the name of Ochin’s company, Ekochin Limited.
When Agbo deployed workers to the land, their activities were halted by Prince Cornelius Nnaji, the then Chairman of Enugu East Local Government Area, who claimed the land formed part of a lease agreement dating back to 1976.
In response, Agbo petitioned the Commissioner of Police, accusing Nnaji of harassment and abuse of office.
However, the police dismissed his claims as baseless and subsequently charged him with giving false information. During trial, the prosecution presented three witnesses, while the defence brought five. Despite this, Agbo was convicted, leading to the appeal.
During proceedings at the High Court, counsel for the respondent argued that one of the appeal grounds was vague and that issues surrounding sentencing had not been raised at the trial court, but Justice Okpe disagreed.
“The court erred in law in finding the appellant guilty in all the counts of the charge even when the prosecution did not prove his case beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
“The view of this Court is that this is a valid ground of appeal and the law is trite that one valid ground of appeal can sustain an appeal.
“This Court will, therefore, resolve this issue in favour of the appellant. With this resolution, the conviction and sentences of the appellant are liable to be set aside. But before I do that, let me determine the issue of whether the lower court was correct in its failure to take into consideration the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Enugu State 2017 in the matter of sentencing,” the judge said.
He went on to agree with the appellant’s counsel that a custodial sentence was inappropriate for a non-violent offence such as the one alleged. He referenced relevant sections of the Enugu State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, which emphasise alternatives to imprisonment, including Sections 391, 392, 420, 455, 469, and 489.
Responding to arguments that the fine imposed already counted as a non-custodial sentence, the judge clarified: “Let me correct a misconception by counsel for the respondent that the issue of sentence passed must have been canvassed and determined in the judgment before it can be raised as an issue on appeal.
“It is not clear to this Court the stage of the proceedings at the lower court when the issue of sentence will be canvassed. This is because the sentence will be pronounced after allocutus, which is the last contribution by counsel for the accused person, and once a sentence is passed, the court becomes functus officio.”
Concluding the judgment, Okpe declared: “Overall, I believe that the appeal is partially successful; therefore, the conviction and sentences imposed by the trial court on the appellant on November 18, 2020, are hereby set aside.
“In their place, I enter a verdict of not guilty in charge No. CME/824C/2017. Consequently, the accused, now appellant, Chidiebere F. Agbo, is hereby discharged and acquitted. Finally, I order that any money paid by the appellant as an option for his custodial sentences be refunded to him.”