that the Defendant was in actual possession. Learned Silk made reference was made to the case of
HEMBE VS FRN (2014) LPELR-22705 PAGE 78 PARAS A-B PER AKOMOLAFE-WILSON JCA. A
Person cannot be charged with Criminal Misappropriation when the alleged misappropriated
Property was not in his possession nor can a Charge of this Offence arise when it is alleged that the
Property was fraudulently acquired.
In addition, there was no proof of Dishonesty, as defined in Section 16 of the Penal Code. On the
assumption that indeed the Defendant misappropriated the Funds as alleged, this ought to have been
clearly indicated that the Defendant did so with the intention of causing wrongful gain to himself or
another or causing loss to the State. Failure to state these details meant that the element of dishonesty
as contained in the Counts had not been proved. Learned Silk also placed reliance on the case of
IFEANYI VS THE STATE (2014) LPELR-22984 (CA) PER SANUSI JCA AT PAGES 32- 36, where
misappropriation and convert to owns use was distinguished and what the Prosecution needed to
establish and the co-existing ingredients that must be simultaneously proved in order to sustain a
conviction. Failure to prove these details means that the element of dishonesty was not proved.
Further, the Charge was bad for duplicity, in that, having charged the Defendant in Count 8 with the
Offence of Criminal Breach of Trust for the Sum of N204Million, it was incorrect to charge him yet for
dishonest misappropriation over the same Money.
Learned Silk, referred to the testimony of PW1, who had testified that throughout the investigation,
there was no complaint from Plateau State Government on loss of Funds. This Witness had supplied
the names of the Officials, such as Shem Damisa, the Accountant General and Nuhu Ali Madaki, the
Deputy Director for Inspectorate II, who were alleged to have ordered payments into the Account of
Ebenezer Retnan Ventures. These Officials ought to have been called, but were not. Therefore, it
cannot be assumed that the payments were unauthorized or that the Defendant wrongfully
authorized them or that they acted unlawfully when they made the payments. These Officials ought to
have been heard before conclusions could be reached against them. In any event, the Law presumes
that where evidence, is available but not called, such evidence is presumed to be detrimental to the
Person withholding the evidence.
According to Learned Silk, PW1 had in fact blamed Nuhu Madaki, who was the Accountant General at
that time for his failure to produce the Vouchers, which would have explained the purpose of the
payments and it was this failure that led to him being charged. The fact that Nuhu Madaki had been
charged does not constitute proof against the Defendant nor would this Court believe his inability of
producing the Vouchers without first hearing him. Therefore, he needed to have been called and the
failure to do so, was fatal. Whether or not Nuhu Madaki and other Officials are standing trial and
assuming they are convicted or acquitted, that would not be proof against the Defendant and the
Court is not allowed to speculate or presume the existence of what is not before it otherwise it would
lead to miscarriage of justice. He made reference to the cases of AHMED VS STATE (2001) 18 NWLR
PART 746 PAGE 672 (SC0; ILORI VS TELLA (2007) ALL FWLR PART 393 PAGE 122 AT PAGE 139
PARAS E-G (CA); UWAJEH VS UWAJEH (2009) ALL FWLR PART 458 PAGE 287 AT PAGE 304
PARAS B-D.
On the assumption that the evidence of PW1, Sunday Musa, were that, all the Drafts paid into
Ebenezer Retnan Ventures were raised in the name of AllStates Trust Bank Plc., (which is not the
case), the onus was on the Prosecution to produce the Staff of AllStates Trust Bank, to explain why
they paid Cheques raised in the Name of the Bank into the Account of Ebenezer Retnan Ventures. He
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