The Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City has discharged and acquitted the Benin branch manager of DHL Express, Mr Nuhu Omokide, of complicity in the disappearance of a parcel bound for the United Kingdom (UK).
Delivering judgment in the appeal marked B/10CA/2025, Justice E. G. Adekanmbi set aside the earlier conviction handed down by Chief Magistrate Grade II, Afe Osamudiamen, describing it as inconsistent with extant laws guiding the five-count charge brought against the appellant.
The case, instituted between Omokide as appellant and the commissioner of police as respondent, arose from a petition by a nominal complainant who alleged that a parcel containing school certificates and professional documents sent from Benin City to the UK was not delivered
Justice Adekanmbi held that the petition was directed at DHL as a corporate entity and not at any individual staff member, stressing that the law does not impose liability on employees for corporate actions unless there is clear evidence of personal criminal conduct.
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"There is no law that makes individuals in the company liable for the company's actions or inactions unless those individuals perpetrated crimes hiding under the corporate veil," the judge ruled.
He further noted that records before the court did not establish any specific criminal act committed by Omokide, adding that his role as branch manager did not extend beyond his official responsibilities within the company.
According to the court, documentary evidence, including tracking records presented by the appellant, showed that the parcel had left the Benin office, thereby negating claims that it remained in his custody.
Justice Adekanmbi also faulted the lower court for concluding that the appellant appropriated the contents of the parcel simply because he could not account for its whereabouts.
"In our adversarial system of adjudication, it is never the responsibility of the defendant to prove his innocence. It is the prosecution that bears the burden of proving its case beyond reasonable doubt," he stated.
The judge held that the prosecution failed to establish the five-count charge against the appellant, emphasizing that there was no evidence of personal negligence or wrongdoing linked to him.
"The trial court only established that a parcel was missing, which was the responsibility of DHL to deliver. There was no scintilla of evidence proving personal negligence on the part of the appellant," he added.
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Consequently, the court allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction and sentence, and ordered that the sum of N250,000 fine earlier paid by the appellant be refunded.
Justice Adekanmbi accordingly discharged and acquitted Omokide of all charges.
