By Nnochiri Ikechukwu
Abuja—The case against Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd) for the 1996 murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, the wife of the well-known 1993 presidential election winner, was rejected by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Following the annulment of her husband’s election victory, Mrs. Abiola was slain in Lagos amid widespread protests. Alongside Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan, Major Al-Mustapha served as General Sani Abacha’s Chief Security Officer at the time. They were charged with two counts: conspiracy to commit murder and the June 4, 1996, murder of Mrs. Abiola.
In 2012, a Lagos State High Court convicted the defendants and gave them a hanging death sentence. But in 2013, a three-person Court of Appeal panel unanimously overturned the decision, dismissing and clearing the defendants for lack of proof.
Lagos State appealed the acquittal to the Supreme Court, which allowed the case to be reopened in 2014 even though procedural deadlines had passed.
The state did not send any attorneys or submit any paperwork to seek the appeal on Thursday. Major Al-Mustapha’s attorney, Mr. Paul Daudu, SAN, contended that Lagos State had given up on the matter, pointing out that it had been given a 30-day deadline in 2014 to submit an appeal, but it had not done so.
It was determined that Lagos State was not represented and had not offered an explanation after a five-member Supreme Court panel headed by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji conducted inquiry. The tribunal dismissed the appeal, stating that the state had obviously lost interest in pursuing the matter, after ruling that nine years was sufficient time for the state to take action.
