The Supreme Court has dismissed the trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), former Chief Security Officer to ex-Military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, in the murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of businessman and politician MKO Abiola.
During proceedings, Lagos State was slated to re-open the case, but no legal representation appeared, and no process had been filed since 2014, when the court granted an order permitting the state to reopen the trial.
“Lagos State has taken no step to implement the order granted in 2014 to re-open the trial,” said Paul Daudu, counsel to Al-Mustapha. He added that the state had not even filed a notice of appeal to demonstrate seriousness in prosecuting the case.
Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, presiding over the matter, noted that nine years was long enough for Lagos State to file the required appeals and briefs. The court expressed displeasure that the state neither appeared in court nor provided information to the respondent, despite being served with hearing notices since 2020.
Consequently, the Supreme Court ruled that Lagos State has abandoned the case, dismissing it in its entirety.
Kudirat Abiola was murdered in Lagos during the nationwide crisis following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which her husband, MKO Abiola, was widely believed to have won.
The case dates back to when Al-Mustapha, along with Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan, were arraigned before a Lagos High Court in 1996 on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and the murder of Kudirat Abiola. In January 2012, the High Court found the accused guilty and sentenced them to death by hanging.
However, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment on July 12, 2013, discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha and the co-accused, ruling that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the death sentence.
Lagos State had sought to challenge the Court of Appeal ruling in 2014, citing alleged miscarriage of justice and arguing that evidence could justify reopening the case. The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday effectively ends all legal proceedings against Al-Mustapha in the matter.
Source; PM News