BAWA DADA & ORS V TANKO YANDAYI & ANOR (2025) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1993) 517
ON APPLICATION OF DOCTRINE OF RED PENCIL RULE
The doctrine of red pencil rule, which has been assimilated into our corpus juris, grants to the courts, both first instance and appellate, the unbridled licence to convict and sentence an accused person of a lesser offence, where proved, when such an accused person is charged with a larger offence, which is not established before the court, provided both share similar particulars. In the instant case, the trial court, based on the respondent’s failure to tender the weapon of crime, a stick, found the appellant guilty of a lesser offence -culpable homicide not punishable with death. That was a proper employment of the doctrine of red pencil rule. [Akwule v. Queen (1963) 1 SCNLR 385; Okobi v. State (1984) 7 SC 47; Nwachukwu v. State (1986)2 NWLR (Pt.25) 765; Kada v. State (1991) 8 NWLR(Pt. 208) 134; Onogwu v. State (1995) 6 NWLR(Pt. 401) 276; Uguru v. State (2002) 9 NWLR (Pt.771) 90; Adava v. State (2006) 9 NWLR (Pt. 984)152; NAF v. Kamaldeen (2007) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1032)164; Ezeja v. State (2008) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1096) 513; Awosika v. State (2010) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1198) 49; Ugwu v. State (2013) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1374) 257; Bayov. State (2013) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1381) 455; Adebesinv. State (2014) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1413) 609; Bogobiriv. State (2017) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1597) 247; Mbachu v. State (2018) 17 NWLR (Pt. 1649) 395; Ofordike v. State (2019) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1666) 395; Folorunso v. State (2020) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1746) 33; Onukwube v. State (2021) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1767) 558; Ogboka v.State (2021) 17 NWLR (Pt. 1804) 139 referred to.](P. 575, paras. A-F)