PROFESSOR AYO OBEMBE
V.
DR. BISSALLAH EKELE

VICTOR A.O. OMAGE, JCA (Delivering the leading judgment): On 27th day of July, 1998, in suit No. SS/4/98, presiding judge Haliru Binji of the Sokoto High Court, ruled concerning the issue of the tendering of a document in a claim for damages for libel proceedings before him as follows “Under section 91 of the Evidence Law when the maker of a statement is available, he must be called, unless he is dead, unfit to attend as witness mentally or bodily not available or cannot be found after all reasonable efforts to find him. The court has express discretion to admit a statement in evidence even though the maker is available but not called as a witness on the ground of undue delay or expenses. In this case there is no reason given by the plaintiff which stops him from calling either the maker of the document or the person who the document was sent to give this court the course to accept the document, under section 91(2) of the evidence law. In view of the foregoing the objection is hereby …