THE DOCTRINE OF LAST SEEN – MURDER CASES

A TRIAL COURT CAN SAFELY CONVICT ON THE DOCTRINE OF LAST SEEN

“The doctrine of “last seen” relied upon by the trial Court to convict and sentence the respondent to death but which was set aside by the lower Court means that the law presumes that the person last seen with a deceased bears full responsibility for his death if it turns out that the person last seen with him has been found dead. Therefore, where an accused person was the last person to be seen in the company of the deceased and circumstantial evidence is overwhelming and leads to an irresistible conclusion that it was the accused that was last seen with the deceased and no other person, and then there is no room for an acquittal. A trial Court can safely convict on such evidence. It is the duty of an accused person who is faced with compelling and damnifying Circumstantial evidence to give explanation relating to how the deceased met his death and in the absence of such explanation, a trial Court will be justified to hold that it was the accused who killed the deceased being the person last seen with him. See Igabele v The State (2006) 6 NWLR (pt 975) 100, Gabriel v The State (1989) 3 NWLR (pt 122) 457, Igho v the State (1978) 3 SC 87, Madu v The State (2012) 15 NWLR (pt 1324) 405, Tajudeen Iliyasu v The State (2015) LPELR – 24403 (SC).”

— J.I. Okoro, JSC. State v Ifiok Sunday (2019) – SC.709/2013