EVIDENCE – CONFESSIONAL STATEMENT – Meaning of Confession under the Evidence Act; whether an accused can be convicted on his confession alone

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“Section 28 of the Evidence Act 2011, provides: “28. A confession is an admission made at any time by a person charged with a crime, stating or suggesting the inference that he committed that crime.” It is settled law that an accused person may be convicted solely on the basis of his confessional statement if it is positive, direct, unequivocal and voluntarily made. See: Yesufu v. State (1976) 6 SC 167, (1976) NSCC 307; Nwachukwu v. The State (2003) NWLR (Pt.123) 312; Kamila v. The State (2018) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1621) 252. There can be no better proof of the commission of a crime than the words of the accused himself, voluntarily stating how the offence was committed and the role he played.” Per KEKERE-EKUN, J.S.C. in ATTO MABA v. THE STATE (2020- LCER-39168-SC) at p. 25

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