recover possession of his goods against the world, a right, which a
dispossessed owner may exercise by peaceable retaking. He may, however,
voluntarily or involuntarily part with possession, for example by the
pledging, lending, hiring out, bailment, theft or loss of his goods, in any of
which cases he is left with a right of ownership without possession,
accompanied or not accompanied, as the case may be, with the right to
possess.
In the case of UGWANYI VS FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA (2012)
LPELR-7817 (SC), HIS LORDSHIP RHODES-VIVOUR JSC defined the word
Possession to mean, “To have or to own is to possess. A thing is in possession
of a Person if it found on him.” In R VS AMISAH 12 WACA PAGE 28, it was
held that before a Person can be convicted of dishonestly receiving goods,
there must be Physical or Constructive Possession. “Constructive
Possession” means that the Goods must be in the Possession of a Person
whose relationship with the Defendant was such that the Goods would be
forthcoming at the request of the Defendant.
Misappropriation is the Umbrella Term under which the different ways of
misusing someone else’s Funds are grouped. Black's Law Dictionary,
Seventh Edition, defines it as the unauthorized, improper, or unlawful use
of Funds or other Property for purposes other than that for which it is
intended, including not only stealing but also unauthorized temporary use
for ones own purpose, whether or not he derives any gain or benefit
therefrom. It thus includes defalcation, defined in Black's as
Misappropriation of Trust Funds or Money held in any Fiduciary Capacity,
and failure to properly account for such Funds, and Conversion, which is any
unauthorized act which deprives an owner of his Property permanently or
for an indefinite time. See the case of Re Lunt, 255 Kan. 529, 1994.
When a Prosecution brings a Charge of Criminal Misappropriation, he must
show to a Court, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, that the following happened or
is true: -
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