AN APPRAISAL OF THE APPLICABILITY OF THE DOCTRINE OF LAST SEEN IN MURDER TRIALS IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

 There is a presumption in law that the person last seen with the deceased bears full responsibility of his death. Social interaction is   an integral part of association and relationship   within the human environment. Human relations may either   have positive impact or negative impact. An example of such instances is a situation where a person last seen with an accused dies and the accused is presumed to be liable for the death of the person. The doctrine of last seen is often relied upon by the prosecution in such circumstance. The doctrine of last seen is a principle in the offence of murder that points to the accused person as the culprit responsible for the death of the deceased/victim. For an accused person to be held liable and convicted for the death of the deceased, the evidence of the prosecution must be compelling, irresistible and pin the offence to the defendant. This paper examines an appraisal of the doctrine of last seen in Nigeria. This study adopted doctrinal research methodology and also placed reliance on both primary and secondary sources. This study concluded that this doctrine should be painstakingly applied to avoid a hasty and erroneous or fatal conclusion as to the cause of death of a person who was last seen with the accused person