housebreaking & burglary

The offences of House-breaking and burglary are actually the same kind of offences, having the same ingredient, but only separated by the time or hour – day or night – they are committed. Also, the punishments for one differs remarkably from the punishment for the other. They are offences created under Section 411 of the CCA which states that:

Any person who -

(1) breaks and enters the dwelling – house of another with intent to commit a felony therein, or

(2) having entered the dwelling – house of another with intent to commit felony therein, or having committed felony in the dwelling-house of another, breaks out of the dwelling – house, is guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.

If the offence is committed in the night the offender is liable to imprisonment for life. As can be seen in the words of the enactment, the common thing between them is the accused Breaks in (not entering through an open door) into the house. The difference between them, that is House-breaking and Burglary is that the former is committed in the day and has 14 years’ imprisonment term, while the other is committed in the night, and has life imprisonment as the punishment.

The offence of house-breaking is the unlawful breaking-in that is done in the day, that is between the hours of 6:30am – 6:30pm, and that committed in the night, that is between 6:30pm – 6:30am is treated as burglary.

It is important to explain that for burglary, the whole action supplying the ingredients need not be executed the same day. While the breaking must be in the night, the entering need not also be in the night. If a person goes and breaks into another dwelling-house in the night as defined above, and waits till later the next day he enters, all with the intent to commit felony, he has committed the felony called burglary.

No. House-breaking or burglary must involve breaking of doors, or windows, or wall of the house or fence, or roof/ceiling or the gate into the compound. Any illegal entering that does not involve breaking of any of the protective demarcating features of the house is not House-breaking or Burglary. It will be the lesser offence of entering dwelling-house with intent to commit felony created under Section 412 of the CCA, as was decided in the case of State v. Onwemunlo (1967-68) M.S.N.L.R. 137

The offence of house-breaking or burglary is committed once the person gains access into the house with any part of his body – finger, toe, head, hand, leg, stick, iron or plastic pole, etc. etc. by breaking any part of the house. Such will constitute sufficient breaking and entering of the dwelling-house. See R. v. Apesi (1961) W.N.L.R. 125.

Yes. Okonkwo and Nash in their Criminal law In Nigeria, put it comprehensively thus: “Breaking may be actual or constructive. There is actual breaking when a person breaks any part, whether external or internal of a building or opens by unlocking, pulling, pushing, lifting or by any other means whatever, any door, window, shutter, cellar flap, or other thing, intended to close or cover an opening in a building or an opening giving passage from one part of a building to another”.

So, it does not have to be only of the external part of the house. Breaking includes opening with key without the authority or licence of the owner or occupier of the dwelling-house.

Constructive breaking would include where the owner or occupier of the dwelling – place is and compelled by threat to open or by collusion between the accused and another person lawfully in the building, or entry is gained through some opening not meant for human passage such as chimney, drainage way or other aperture of the building permanently left open for some necessary purpose but not for human passage. Such is caught up in the wide definition of “breaking” as rendered in Section 410 of the CCA.

No. A person may commit house-breaking or burglary for any other unlawful purpose, for instance, rape, murder, arson etc. etc. That is why a person may be charged for house-breaking or burglary together with stealing, kidnapping, murder or any other crime.

The law is that the offence of house-breaking or burglary is only about residential or dwelling places. If the offence is committed in an office, a shop, or anywhere else, it will be the lesser offence created under Section 410 of CCA with the lesser punishment of 7 years’ imprisonment, as against the offences in Section 411 of the CCA of house-breaking or burglary punishable with imprisonment for 14 years or for life, respectively