ADEYARGU vs. THE REPUBLIC

This is a case which illustrates the problem posed in the judgment in Amadu Fulani v. The Republic [1968] G.L.R. 66 which I have just read) even better. The appellant was charged before the circuit court with unlawful entry with intention to cause damage to property and causing damage to property. He was proved to have set fire to property worth ¢657.00. Now either such charges are serious enough to warrant severe punishment when proved or they are not. If they are not then a summary trial would be the suitable mode of trial otherwise a trial on indictment seems to be indicated. There was no record of any previous convictions against the appellant. Thus tit the end of the case, there was nothing to make the case graver than what the prosecution set out to prove and presumably outlined in their opening address. There was nothing to show that the gravity of the offence only emerged in the course of the case, or worse, that it was hidden until the end. Yet the appellant was u on....