Res Gestae and the Strict Contemporaneity Test: Beddingfield laid to Rest

The principle of res gestae is a common law doctrine applicable as one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule. The English case of R v. Beddingfield is the locus classicus on the application of the principle of res gestae. The case of R v. Beddingfield established the strict contemporaneity test for the rule to be applicable. Meanwhile, the English Courts have departed from the strict contemporaneity test. The case of R v. Andrews established the proximity test. However, in Nigeria, the Evidence Act, of 2011 established the res gestae principle. This statutory provision established the ‘strict contemporaneity test’ that was established in R v Beddingfield which has been overruled by the House of Lords in R v Andrews. The attitude of the Nigeria Courts is’ first, to follow the common law principle; second, the courts have been oscillating between applying the strict contemporaneity test and the proximate non-exact contemporaneity test, though without any reference to the case of R v. Andrew which is only a persuasive precedent rather than a binding precedent in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the celebrated case of Chukwuemeka Ezenko (alias Dr. Rev. King) v. The State set a new threshold for the application of the principle of res gestae in Nigeria as the Supreme Court set new conditions for the application of the principle of res gestae, and set out the conditions under which the defense of alibi could safe a defendant from the onslaught of res gestae.