UMANA
V.
THE STATE

T. O. ELIAS, C.J.N (Delivering the Leading Judgment): On October 25, 1971, Allswell-Uranta, J., in the High Court of the Ikot Ekpene Judicial Division in the South-Eastern State found Okon Umana guilty of the murder of Edem Umoh (deceased), contrary to Section 319 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to death. On March 22, 1972, we dismissed the appeal brought by him, and we now give our reasons therefore.

The learned trial Judge found that the accused gave three inconsistent stories of what happened. In the first, in a statement which he made to the Police (Exhibit C), he said that on 20/2/71 he saw on his palm estate one Victor Peter cutting his palm fruits for Edem Umoh, the deceased. When he asked Edem Umoh, the deceased, why he cut the palm fruits, he said that the latter told him that, as his father was not from Ikot Ayan Ndiya village, he had no right to cut palm fruit along that area of the bush. Following this exchange of words, he said that the deceased, who was carrying o…