NNAMANI, JSC (Delivering The Leading Judgment): The appellant herein was charged with murder contrary to Section 316(3) and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Cap. 30 Vol. 11 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria in that on or about the 26th day of January 1987, he murdered one Felicia Ejide. He was tried at the Ikere-Ekiti Judicial Division of the Ondo State High Court, and on 15th April, 1988, Fawehinmi, J. convicted him and sentenced him to death. The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal Benin Judicial Division (Coram Omo, Musdapher and Ejiwanmi JJCA) which on 21st February, 1989 dismissed his appeal and affirmed the conviction and sentence. The appellant has now appealed to this Court.
The facts of this tragic case have been fully set down in the judgments of the trial Court and the Court of Appeal. I can only set them down briefly here. Felicia Ejide was a woman of about 70 years at the time of her death. For about 8 years prior to her death, she had been very ill and…