EMMANUEL v. STATE OF EKITI (2026) LPELR-84580(CA)

Proper person to inform the Court on how a confessional statement was obtained _"It is for the type of scenario that happened in this case, where it was counsel who initially spoke to the trial Court that the statement was not made voluntarily and later informed the Court what the defendant, who was the maker of the document said, that prompted this Court to pronounce in THOMPSON v. THE STATE (2023) LPELR-61413(CA) (Pp 28-29 Paras. A-B, per Peter Obiorah, JCA, that: "I think it is wrong for a defence counsel to be the person who will inform the Court how a confessional statement was obtained. The Bconfessional statement was not made by counsel. He was not there when it was made. Therefore, it does not lie in the mouth of a defence counsel to just get up in Court and say that the statement of the accused person was obtained under duress... The ideal thing is that when such confessional statement is sought to be tendered in evidence, it will be shown to the accused person in the dock who can admit making the statement or deny signing the statement or that he signed under duress. It is the statement of the accused person that the trial Court must record and then decide on the next course of action depending on what the accused person said."_ Per PETER CHUDI OBIORAH, JCA (Pp 22 - 23 Paras D - C)