They have been unable to establish this crucial fact. A CCTV footage would have
revealed the identity of the culprit conclusively. The evidence relating to stealing
of the alleged sum of money missing is to Vitalis Osunbor, and not the
Defendant. That is my finding and I so hold. The prosecution has not been able
to prove with specificity the actual amount of money missing or stolen. The
lnternal Auditor Report carried out by the said Bank as to how much money is
missing or stolen is not before the Court. No record of how much was loaded,
withdrawn or stolen is not before this Court.
lndeed, in the case of Dr. olu onagoruwa
His Lordship, Tobi, JCA, as he then was stated:
v. The state supra atP.47B,
"Therefore, if an accused is charged with stealing a particular amount or
named amount, the prosecution must stand or fall by proving the particular
amount or by failing to prove same, respectively. The legal position is as
exact as that. A contrary position will not only be oppressive to the
accused but will certainly run against the provision of Section 33(5) of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979 where the accused is
presumed innocent, until he is proved guilty. How can an accused be
proved guilty if evidence is not led on the exact amount of money stolen in
an indivisible charge such as the one the appellant faced? That will be
tantamount to reversing justice and, we in this Court, cannot be a party to
such reversion""
This Court is properly guided, and states quite unequivocally that the
prosecution has not been able to prove this specific amount of money or any sum
of money allegedly stolen by the Defendant. That is my finding and I so hold.
It should also be noted that there was a prevarication of how much money
was said to have been stolen. From Eleven Million it became Eleven tMillion, Four
Hundred Thousand Naira. The Defendant was not found with the money stolen,
nor, was he arrested at the very point of commission of the offence" The
Prosecution has been unable to establish that it was the Defendant who was
indeed the person who committed the offence, and so, this court is disentitled
from convicting him. See the Case of Tajudeen Fabiyi V. The State (2015) 46
WRN at 45.
Then on Count ll, this Court refers, and adopts the elements of conspiracy
as enumerated in the case of Shodiya V . The State, supra. The Court also refers
to the case of Patrick Njovens & 3 Ors. V. The State (1998) ACLR 224, Supreme
Court stated that:
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