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WHEN IS A TESTIMONY HEARSAY

Dictum

In the case of Subramaniam vs Public Prosecutor, (1956) 1 WLR 965 at 969, hearsay evidence was described in the following terms: “Evidence of a statement made to a witness called as a witness may or may not be hearsay. It is hearsay and inadmissible when the object of the evidence is to establish the truth of what is contained in the statement. It is not hearsay and is admissible when it is proposed to establish by the evidence, not the truth of the statement but the fact that it was made”.

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MEANING OF HEARSAY

By the hearsay rule, an assertion other than one made by a person while giving oral evidence in Court is inadmissible as evidence of the facts asserted. In very simple terms, hearsay evidence is any statement made out of Court but offered in Court to prove the truth of the facts asserted in Court. It...

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NATURE OF HEARSAY EVIDENCE – RATIONALE FOR HEARSAY EVIDENCE EXCLUSION

Now, the law is settled that any statement made to a witness by a person who is not himself called as a witness is hearsay if the statement seeks to establish the truth of what is contained therein and therefore inadmissible in evidence pursuant to Section 77 of the Evidence Act. This is because such...

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REASONS FOR REJECTION OF HEARSAY EVIDENCE

From all the authorities, the salient reasons which appear for the rejection of hearsay evidence include the following: a) That the maker or originator of the statement was not under oath when he made it. b) That there is no opportunity for the cross examination of the maker; c) The likelihood of depreciation of the...

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HEARSAY EVIDENCE WHEN WITNESS IS NOT THE MAKER

It is trite law that evidence of a witness who is not the maker of such statement is hearsay evidence and generally not admissible. See Sylvester Utteh v State (1992) 2 NWLR part 223-257, SUBRAMANIAN VS PUBLIC PROSECUTOR (1956) 1 WLR 965. State v Masiga (2017) – SC

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HEARSAY EVIDENCE IS TO HELP COURT AS TO WHAT ANOTHER SAID, BUT NOT ESTABLISH THE TRUTH

One of the remnants of the appellants grouses is against the evidence proffered by PW1. They branded it as inadmissible hearsay. In our adjectival law, a witness is expected to testify on oath, or affirmation, on what he knows personally. Where a witness gives evidence on what another person told him about events, then it...

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WHEN OBJECT OF EVIDENCE IS TO PROVE TRUTH OF STATEMENT MADE BY ANOTHER, IS HEARSAY

Subramaniam v. Public Prosecution (1956) 1 WLR 965 at 969, it was held that: “Evidence of a statement made to a witness by a person who is not himself called as a witness may or may not be hearsay. It is hearsay and inadmissible when the object of the evidence is to prove the truth of the facts asserted by the statement. It is not hearsay and is admissible when it is proposed to establish by evidence not the truth by the statement but the fact that it was made'”

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