MEDICAL REPORT AND EVIDENCE IN CHIEF

In David Ifenado v. The State (1967) N.M.L.R. 200, a decision of this Court which was relied on by the Federal Court of Appeal, the doctor after his evidence in chief produced a medical report which was received in evidence. Brett, J.S. C. (delivering the judgment of the Court) held that It was clearly inadmissible at that stage. The Doctor might properly have been allowed to refresh his memory from the report under Section 215 of the Evidence Act and the defence would then have been entitled to see it and cross-examine on it, in which case it might have been produced in evidence but it ought not to have been admitted at the trial in the evidence-in-chief.

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MEDICAL EVIDENCE IS NOT PREREQUISITE TO ESTABLISH MURDER

Learned counsel for the appellant raised eyebrows on the failure of the prosecution/respondent to tender any medical report on the death of the deceased victim. It is trite law, that medical evidence though is desirable in establishing the cause of death in a case of murder, it is however not essential or a pre-requisite in a situation where there are facts sufficient enough to show the cause of death to the satisfaction of the Court. See LORI V STATE (supra) Uwaegbe Enewoh v The State (1990) NWLR (pt.145) 469 or (1990) 7 SC.

— Amiru Sanusi, JSC. Ogunleye Tobi v The State (2019) – SC.714/2017

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MEANING OF RAPE IN LEGAL PARLANCE

“Rape” in legal parlance means a forcible sexual intercourse with a girl or a woman without her giving consent to it. The most important and essential ingredient of the offence is penetration and consent of the victim is a complete defence to the offence.

— Kalgo, JSC. Okon Iko v State (2001) – SC.177/2001

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DANGER OF CONVICTING FOR RAPE ON UNCORROBORATED EVIDENCE

It is an established practice in criminal law that though corroboration of the evidence of the complainant in a rape case is not a statutory requirement, it is, in practice, always looked for. In other words, it is now a well established practice, by the courts in Nigeria, that in cases of rape the evidence of the complainant must be corroborated. The nature of the corroboration must necessarily depend on the peculiar facts of each case. Where rape is denied by the accused the sort of corroboration the courts must look for is medical evidence showing injury to the private part of the complainant, injury to other parts of her body which may have been occasioned in a struggle, seminal stains on her clothes or the clothes of the accused or on the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed. Where the prosecution evidence is not sufficiently strong to warrant a conviction, it would be unsafe to convict merely on the accusation of the woman who alleges that she has been raped. The Judge must warn himself against the danger of convicting a man on such uncorroborated testimony. See lbeakanma v. Queen (1963) 2 SCNLR at 195; Reekie v. Queen (1954) 14 WACA 501.

— Katsina-Alu, JSC. Okon Iko v State (2001) – SC.177/2001

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PENETRATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT OF RAPE

The essential and most important ingredient of the offence of rape is penetration and unless penetration is proved, the prosecution cannot be said to have proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Penetration however slight is sufficient and it is not necessary to prove an injury or the rupture of the hymen to constitute the crime of rape. See: – EDET OKON IKO VS STATE (2001) 7 SCNJ 391. OKOYOMON VS STATE (1973) 1 SC 21, R VS ALLEN 9C & p 31.

— S.D. Bage, JSC. State v Masiga (2017) – SC

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CORROBORATION IS REQUIRED FOR RAPE CONVICTION

In R.v. Ross (1925) 18 Cr. App. Rep. 141 at 142. Hewart, L.C.J. on facts which are not too dissimilar to those in the present case had this to say, namely:- “In a case of this kind, corroboration of the story of the prosecutrix, though not essential in law, is required in practice. It is the well-settled practice to warn juries that it is not safe to convict on the uncorroborated testimony of the prosecutrix. To tell the jury that something is corroboration which is not corroboration may have a more unfortunate result than the omission of any warning on the matter. Here a matter was treated as corroboration which was not corroboration … The conviction must be quashed.”

ABSENCE OF MEDICAL REPORT IN RAPE CASE NOT FATAL

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MEDICAL REPORT AND EVIDENCE IN CHIEF

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MEDICAL EVIDENCE IS NOT PREREQUISITE TO ESTABLISH MURDER

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MEANING OF RAPE IN LEGAL PARLANCE

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DANGER OF CONVICTING FOR RAPE ON UNCORROBORATED EVIDENCE

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PENETRATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT OF RAPE

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CORROBORATION IS REQUIRED FOR RAPE CONVICTION

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