(d)
The above are the ingredients of the offences which the
prosecution must prove against the Defendants beyond
reasonable doubt. And to prove the ingredients of the
offence or guilt of the two Defendants, such manner of
proof has been rightly captured in the case of AGBOOLA
V THE STATE (supra) where the Supreme Court held:-
“It is trite law that in criminal trials the guilt of the Accused
person for the commission of an offence could be established
by any of the following:(a)
The confessional statement of the Accused;
(b)
Circumstantial evidence;
(c)
Evidence of an eye witness.
See also SOPAKIRI BA IGBIKIS V THE STATE, (2017)
LPELR 41667 (SC) SUNDAY UDOR V STATE, (2014)
LPELR 23064 (SC) and BITO SEMAKA V THE STATE,
(2018) LPELR 44001 (CA)
Arising from the above, for the offence of conspiracy, how can
the prosecution prove its ingredients? In the case of MRS.
MUBO IKOTUN V FRN & ANOR (2017) LPELR 43396, the
Court of Appeal, Lagos Judicial Division held:“The offence of conspiracy is hardly proved by direct evidence.
Conspirators normally shroud their criminal activities with
secrecy. Evidence of conspiracy is ordinarily drawn from
inferential or circumstantial sources showing the criminal acts
of the parties concerned done in pursuance of a criminal
enterprise in common between the parties so the offence of
conspiracy by inference can be proved by circumstantial or
inferential evidence vide NJOVENS & ORS V THE STATE
(1973) NWLR (pt 76) at 96-97.”
And it is also the law that proof of conspiracy can be inferred
from the circumstances of the case. And once the prosecution
succeeds in proving the existence of conspiracy, evidence
against one conspirator is admissible against the other.
See SANI GWANDU V FRN, (2014) LPELR 23992 (CA)
Kaduna Judicial Division and MUSA YARO V STATE,
(2008) 3 NCC page 250 at 262.
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