had performed a post-mortem examination on the corpse and he gave it in evidence that the deceased had the following injuries:"1. She was dead probably two days before the 20th March, 1970. 2. Lacerations were found at the abdominal regions. 3. The rectum was gushing out from the anal region. 4. A lot of clotted blood were observed in the thoracic and abdominal cavities. 5. There was a rupture of the liver at right lobe. 6. Rupture of the spleen was also seen. 7. Fracture of the 7th, 8th, 9th left ribs were seen." The doctor thought the deceased had died from rupture of the liver, ribs and spleen and that the injuries could have been caused by the use of a blunt object like a heavy stick used with force or a kick with the foot applied with great force. Â Â The appellant made a statement to the police after his arrest and in that statement he denied having killed the deceased; indeed he said that on the day in question Mgbankwo Nwuzo came out of the house, protested against his own erection of a shed on the spot where it stood and then proceeded to pull down the shed which he, appellant, had already erected. The appellant further stated that he then took her by the hand and led her out of the place; that she came back and continued to pull down his own shed and that he, the appellant, left the spot after he had been advised to do so in order to avoid a quarrel. He further stated that he learned later that the deceased had fallen down on that spot and that people were throwing water on her. At his trial, the appellant gave evidence in his own defence. He told more or less the same story as contained in his statement to the police and admitted that he was aware that Mgbankwo Nwuzo was generally known to be subject occasionally to fits of epilepsy. Â Â As stated before, the only eye-witness to the killing of the deceased was Agnes Okoye a daughter of the deceased. She was at the time of giving evidence in this case a school girl and was only some 13 years old. The records show that when she was called into the witness box she was sworn on the Bible and thereafter proceeded with her evidence even though the learned trial judge observed and noted on his records that she was a young girl of about 13 years. In his judgment, the learned trial judge accepted her testimony and rejected the story of the appellant, although it is fair to observe that the learned trial judge also looked for and found other materials which tended to make her own story more probable.

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