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THE DANGER OF IDENTIFICATION PARADE

Dictum

R v. Turnbull (1976) 3 WLR 28, as follows: “Recognition may be more reliable than identification of a stranger; but when the witness is purporting to recognize someone whom he knows, the jury should be reminded that mistakes in recognition of close relatives and friends are sometimes made. All these matters go to the quality of the identification evidence. If the quality of the evidence is good and remains good at the close of the accused person’s case, the danger of mistaken identification is lessened but the poorer the quality, the greater the danger.”

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IDENTIFICATION PARADE HAS ITS WEAKNESSES; DEFENCE COUNSEL MUST BE WARY TO IMPUGN IDENTIFICATION

The learned Appellants counsel seems to hold a strong impression, though erroneous, that without a proper identification parade the identification of the Appellant by the PW1 was faulty. There is nothing magical about identification parade. It also has human errors associated with it. And it is for this reason that Oputa, JSC, stated in lKEMSON...

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FACTORS BEFORE PLACING RELIANCE ON IDENTIFICATION EVIDENCE

The correct identification of the perpetrator of a crime is therefore crucial, particularly where the accused person was not arrested at the scene of crime, and the victim did not know him prior to the incident. In order to avoid a situation of mistaken identity, the Court will consider certain factors before placing reliance on...

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IDENTIFICATION OF ACCUSED PERSON IS ONE OF FACT

Proper identification of the accused person as the person who took part in the commission of the alleged crime, is one of fact. See OKOSI v. THE STATE (1989) 1 NWLR (pt. 100) 642; STATE v. AIBANGBEE & ANOR. (1988) 7 SCNJ 128. — E. Eko, JSC. Kekong v State (2017) – SC.884/2014 Was this...

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MEANING AND NATURE OF IDENTIFICATION PARADE

Identification parade by its nature is the means of establishing whether a person charged with an offence is the same person who committed the offence. It is essential in instances where:- (a) The victim did not know the accused before and his first acquaintance with him was during the commission of the offence. (b) The...

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WHAT IS IDENTIFICATION PARADE?

An identification parade is the process by which an accused person is identified out of a number of people with identical features as the accused person, by a witness. – Ogunwumiju JCA. Okeke v. State (2016) Was this dictum helpful? Yes 0 No 0...

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WHEN IDENTIFICATION PARADE IS SAID TO NOT BE PROPERLY CONDUCTED

Identification parade would not be properly conducted when the witness is asked leading questions like “Is this the person?” or when a police officer nods in the direction of the accused person … Where the identification parade is improper, the accused must be given the benefit of the doubt. – Ogunwumiju JCA. Okeke v. State...

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