APPEAL: Appellate Court – Duty of an appellate court to be concerned with whether or not the decision appealed against was correct

APPEAL: Concurrent findings of facts – Weariness of the Appellate Court to interfere with findings of facts firmly supported by evidence

APPEAL: Grounds of Appeal – Whether or not repetitive observations or remarks by a trial court qualifies as a decision or determination of the court

APPEAL: Issues for Determination – Discretion of the Supreme Court to re-frame, re-arrange or reformulate issues for determination

APPEAL: Issues for Determination – The principles governing formulation of issues for determination of an appeal

APPEAL: Reasons for a Decision – Whether or not an appellate court will interfere with the findings of a trial court on the ground of incorrect reasoning

EVIDENCE: Evaluation of Evidence – Primary duty of the trial judge to evaluate evidence – Rationale behind assignment of the role of evaluation of evidence to the trial judge

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Concurrent findings – Attitude of the Supreme Court to concurrent findings by the lower courts 

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Concurrent findings of fact(s) – Attitude of the Supreme Court to concurrent findings – Rights of the Supreme Court to interfere with perverse findings

WORDS AND PHRASES: “Perverse Findings” Meaning and what a perverse finding entails

APPEAL – Amendment of Notice of Appeal – The essence of amendment of Notice of Appeal

APPEAL: Amendment of Notice of Appeal – Discretionary right of the Appellant to amend a valid and competent Notice of Appeal

APPEAL: Appeal as of right – Appeal from Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court – Effect of failure to obtain leave to appeal to Supreme Court where leave is required

APPEAL: Grounds of Appeal – The thin line between grounds of law and mixed law and facts – Classification of grounds of appeal – How grounds of appeal can be classified or differentiated

APPEAL: Leave to Appeal – Effect of failure to obtain leave before filing appeal on grounds of mixed law and facts

APPEAL: Notice of Appeal – Right to Amend Notice of Appeal – Whether or not an incompetent Notice of Appeal can be amended

APPEAL: Notice of Appeal – Right to Amend Notice of Appeal – Whether an inexistent Notice of Appeal can be amended

PLEADINGS: Amendment of Court Processes/Pleadings – The essence of amendment of pleadings – Desirability of amendments in the interest of justice and fairness

PLEADINGS: Amendments of pleadings – Liberty of parties to amend processes at any time before judgment

APPEAL: Concurrent findings – Attitude of the Supreme Court to concurrent findings of facts by the lower courts – When the Supreme Court may interfere with concurrent findings of facts

CRIMINAL LAW AND PRACTICE: Offences – Armed Robbery – Essential elements/ingredients of armed robbery

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Confessional Statement – Meaning and nature of confessional statement

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Conspiracy – Nature of the offence of conspiracy – How conspiracy can be established – Emphasis on meeting of the minds over physical meetings

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Exoneration or exculpation of criminal liability – Instances where an accused person may be exonerated under section 57 of the Penal Code Act

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Guilt of an accused person – Duty of the prosecution to establish guilt of an accused beyond reasonable doubts – Duty of the court to resolve any doubts in favour of the accused person

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Guilt of an accused person – Means/ways of proving guilt of an accused person

JUDGEMENT AND ORDER: Unappealed findings – Presumption of admission of unappealeed findings

NOTABLE PRONOUNCEMENT – Moral Deficiency

COURT – Court of Appeal – Duty of the Court of Appeal as a penultimate or intermediate court to consider and make definite findings on all issues

CRIMINAL AND PROCEDURE: Charge – Essence and Requirements of a charge

CRIMINAL AND PROCEDURE: Charge – Required form and content of a charge under section 200-202 of the CPC

CRIMINAL AND PROCEDURE: Jurisdiction of the High Court to try offences pursuant to S. 185 (b) of the CPC cap. 35, Laws of Niger State – conditions that must be satisfied for the High Court to try a person

CRIMINAL AND PROCEDURE: Leave to prefer a charge – Whether or not a separate charge should be filed after leave to prefer a charge has been granted – Effect of failure to file a separate charge after leave i

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE:  Defective Charge – Right to object to a defective charge – Whether or not the accused can waive his right to object to a defective charge

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Amendment of a charge – Effect of an amended charge – Whether or not an amended charge dates back to the date the original charge was filed 

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Charge – Validity of a charge – Whether or not a charge must be signed by the Hon. Attorney General or an authorized officer to be valid 

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Charge – Whether or not each count of the charge must be signed by the drafter

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Conviction without a charge – Proper order the appellate court should make when the accused was misled in his defence in the absence of a charge

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Invalid Charge – Effect of a conviction secured on invalid charge or without a charge

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE – Charge – Essence of a charge – presumption of regularity of a charge

EVIDENCE: Assertion – Burden of proof – Duty of he who alleges or asserts to prove

TECHNICALITIES: Defective Charge – Need to treat defect in a charge as a mere irregularity – Attitude of court to technical justice

INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES: Literal Rule of Interpretation – Section 84 (5)(c)(i) of the Electoral Act, 2022 – Duty of the Court to give literal meaning to the clear and unambiguous provisions of Section 84 (5)(c)(i) of the Electoral Act

APPEAL: Obiter Dictum – Effect of an obiter – Whether an obiter can be subject of appeal

APPEAL: Reply Brief – Essence of a Reply Brief

EVIDENCE: Burden of Proof in Criminal Matters – Duty of the prosecution to prove the guilt of an accused person – What proof beyond reasonable doubts entails

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Proof beyond Reasonable doubts – What proof beyond reasonable doubts entails

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Offences – Armed Robbery – Essential elements of armed robbery – What the prosecution must prove to secure conviction for the offence of armed robbery

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Armed Robbery – Ways of proving the offence of armed robbery

EVIDENCE, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Circumstantial Evidence – Nature of Circumstantial Evidence that may be reasonably relied upon to secure conviction

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Concurrent findings of facts – Need for the Supreme Court to be circumspect in interfering with concurrent findings – Instances where the Supreme Court may interfere with concurrent findings

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Confessional statement – Best form of evidence – Whether an accused person can be convicted solely on his confessional statement – Confessional statement as the best form of evidence 

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Confessional statement – Meaning and quality of confessional statement that would be sufficient to ground conviction

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Confessional Statement – What the court must consider before convicting an accused person solely on his confessional statemen

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Confessional Statement – Whether an accused person can be convicted solely on his confessional statement as the best form of evidence 

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Perverse Findings – When concurrent findings may be said to be perverse and capable of interfering with

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Concurrent findings of fact(s) – Need for the Supreme Court to be circumspect in interfering with concurrent findings – Instances where the Supreme Court may interfere with concurrent findings 

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Conspiracy – Meaning and nature of the offence of Conspiracy – What the prosecution must prove to secure conviction for the offence of conspiracy

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE: Confessional Statement – What the court must consider before convicting an accused person solely on his confessional statement