ANYANWU
V.
THE QUEEN

BRETT, Ag. C.J.F. (delivering the judgment of the Court): The appellant and one Stephen Nwosu were charged jointly on an information containing six counts for conspiracy, fraudulent false accounting and stealing by clerks and servants, and the case for the prosecution was that these offences were committed in fraud of the Gratta Rural District Council, by which the appellant was at the material time employed as treasurer and Stephen Nwosu as storekeeper. ,The charges related to three pay sheets made out by Stephen Nwosu, in each of which the net amount shown as due was substantially larger than the sum of the individual items. These pay sheets were signed by the appellant as officer controlling expenditure and the totals shown as due were paid out from the treasury. Stephen Nwosu signed as paying officer and thus certified that the employees had been paid the sums due, but he never reported or accounted for any surplus. As regards the guilty knowledge of the appellant, particular impo…