Major Hamza Al-Mustapha
By Chuks Okocha
Northern Emirs and Chiefs Thursday denied report, that they met early in the week in Kaduna, to take a position on the conviction of former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who was sentenced to death by hanging by a Lagos High Court.
The Northern Emirs in a reaction through the Emir of Kazaure, Dr. Najib Hussaini Adamu, who attended the meeting, said insinuations in a section of the media to the effect that they met over the plight of Al-Mustapha were “crude, false and uncharitable.”
Though he confirmed that the Emirs met in Kaduna, he however insisted that the meeting had nothing to do with the conviction of Al-Mustapha by the court.
“We had the serious business of studying a document prepared by a committee of 10, to advise our Northern state governors on how to prevent these frequent and disturbing problems of crises in the North,” Adamu said in a statement he signed.
According to Adamu, “In the first instance, this meeting was called 10 days before the judgment was given. The day the court convicted him was the day of the arrival of the Emirs and Chiefs. How could the issue be on our agenda?”
Adamu, who is also a lawyer, said the matter of Al-Mustapha was subjudice hence could not have been a subject of discussion by the monarchs. “Nobody, not even the President can meddle in that case now because it is before the courts. Nobody can touch it unless it is over,” Adamu said.
He called on discerning members of the public to discountenance any such reports associating the Kaduna meeting with the convictions of the former CSO to Abacha.