WHETHER CONFESSIONAL STATEMENT TAKEN IN THE ABSENCE OF A VIDEO RECORDING OR IN THE ABSENCE OF A LEGAL PRACTITIONER IS ADMISSIBLE IN LAW?

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WHETHER CONFESSIONAL STATEMENT TAKEN IN THE ABSENCE OF A VIDEO RECORDING OR IN THE ABSENCE OF A LEGAL PRACTITIONER IS ADMISSIBLE IN LAW? 

by Branham Chima. 


✓ DEFINITION(S): 

• Confessional statement: A confessional statement refers to a statement made by an individual in which they admit to being involved in a particular crime. 

• Admissible in law: Admissible is an adjective used in the legal context to describe evidence, testimony, or information that is legally acceptable and can be presented in a court of law. It means such material will be considered by the judge in the trial. Conversely, evidence that is not admissible is typically excluded from consideration by the court.  


✓ ANSWER: 

In the pursuit of justice, the role of evidence cannot be underestimated. The presence of crucial evidence, such as video recordings or the involvement of legal practitioners, holds the potential to decisively establish the voluntariness of confessional statements in legal proceedings. This becomes particularly vital in cases involving serious crimes like armed robbery, where a conviction carries the weighty penalty of a death sentence. 

The once common practice of recording confessional statements without the presence of a legal practitioner and/or electronic recording has now become legally impermissible. The reliability of a confession must now be bolstered by independent corroborative evidence. 

In Charles v State of Lagos (2023) LPELR-60632(SC), the Supreme Court on this point expressed thus: ‘Evidence of a video recording or the presence of a legal practitioner would have been conclusive proof that the confessional statement was obtained voluntarily. It makes it imperative in the circumstances, particularly in cases of armed robbery where a death sentence is the sanction on conviction, that confessional statements should be taken according to the provisions of the law. Even where the prosecution has ignored the provision of the law as sacrosanct as this, the trial judge should have brought it up suo motu. The judge cannot pick and choose which extant law to enforce. These provisions are clearly not outside the realm of what is achievable by the Police and other security agencies. Incidents of recording confessional statements in the absence of a legal practitioner and/or electronic recording is no longer legally permissible. The truthfulness of a confession should be corroborated by independent evidence. In the instant case, the better part of wisdom is to look for any other evidence apart from the confessional statement of the Appellant linking the Appellant to the offence. See NWEZE v. STATE (2017) LPELR-42344(SC) Pg. 32-33 paras. A. As judges, we cannot pretend to be ignorant of the operations of the defunct SARS and its notorious reputation for “extracting” confessional statements from victims in their custody.’ 

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