BELLO, CJN (Delivering The Leading Judgment): This appeal raises, inter alia, a very important question of law in the administration of criminal justice. The question arises from the principle of law stated in Oladejo v. State (1987) 3 NWLR (Pt. 61) 419 at 427 by Nnamani, JSC:
"Where a witness (here an accused person) makes a statement which is inconsistent with his testimony, such testimony is to be treated as unreliable while the statement is not regarded as evidence upon which the court can act."
In Asanya v. State (1991) 3 NWLR (Pt. 180) 422 at 451, the court sitting as a full court adopted the said principle of law and was not willing to depart from it in spite of the eloquent and well researched submission of learned counsel for the appellant in that case that the court should over-rule the line of cases in which the principle had been applied to the extra-judicial confession of an accused person which was inconsistent with his testimony.
The question now for determination is: W…