any objection whatsoever from anybody and as her age does not necessarily import an incapability to
understand the nature of an oath or any other form of incompetency the section relied upon to attack
the proceedings is in our view unavailing." PER COKER, JSC (P. 16, paras. B-E) (...read in context)
4. WORDS AND PHRASES - "A CHILD": Meaning of a Child
"A child is a young person in the formative period of life and whilst it is easy to see that a person of the
age of 6 or 7 years does not understand the nature of an oath, it is impossible to be categorical on the
capability or otherwise of a child of the age of 13 years or more to understand the nature of an oath. A
great deal depends on the opinion of the judge who sees and hears the witness. Where the child is
incapable of understanding the nature of an oath, the procedure in section 182(1) must be followed so
as to justify the necessary departure from the provisions of section 179. On the other hand, where the
child is capable of understanding the nature of an oath, he must comply with section 179 as is the case
in the present proceedings." PER COKER, J.S.C. (Pp. 15-16, paras. D-A) (...read in context)
G. B. A. COKER, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The appellant herein has appealed to this Court
against his conviction for murder by Oputa J. (High Court, Onitsha). He was charged and tried on an
Information which alleged that on the 19th March, 1970, at Isuh in the Onitsha Division of the EastCentral State he murdered one Mgbankwo Nwuzo who was his own sister-in-law having been married to
a brother of the appellant who died during the recent civil war. Six witnesses gave evidence for the
prosecution at his trial but only one of them, Agnes Okoye, 2nd prosecution witness, was an eye-witness
to the events leading to the death of Mgbankwo Nwuzo. The case for the prosecution is that on the day
in question the appellant resented the action of Mgbankwo Nwuzo in hoisting sticks on the ground for
the erection of a shed and, as she repeatedly gathered her sticks and tried to put them up again after he
had pulled them down, the appellant kicked her with his foot on the waist and the stomach and then hit
her on the head with a bamboo stick. Mgbankwo Nwuzo fell down on the spot and died within a few
moments thereafter. A local chief-Matthias Maduka, 1st prosecution witness testified to the effect that
soon after the killing of the deceased the appellant and one Lawrence Ofurume (3rd prosecution
witness, came to him and reported that the appellant and a woman had fought and that the woman, by
name Mgbankwo Nwuzo, had died. The Chief also said that he followed them to the place where they
said the body lay and saw the corpse of the deceased. Dr. Douglas Ikegwuonu, 5th prosecution witness,