BELLO, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The appellant was convicted of the murder of his brother by the High Court of Bendel State and the Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction. The evidence accepted by the trial court shows that the appellant apparently because the brother had refused to give him some money, stabbed the brother on the neck and left side of the chest with a dagger and the brother died within 2 hours of the incident. Although post mortem examination was done on the body, the doctor could not be traced to give evidence during the trial. There was therefore no medical evidence of the cause of death. The trial judge inferred from the evidence that the injuries inflicted by the stabs caused the death.
It is trite law that medical evidence, though desirable, is not essential in all cases of homicide. A trial court may infer the cause of death from the circumstantial evidence before it. I am satisfied that the circumstances of the case in hand warrant drawing such…