Kudirat Abiola: S’Court Dismisses Appeal Seeking to Re-open Al-Mustapha’s Trial

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Supreme Court, yesterday, dismissed the appeal seeking to open the trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), over the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late Chief Moshood Abiola, who won the annulled June 12 1993, presidential election.

Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, was a major suspect in the death of Kudirat on June 4, 1996 in Lagos State.

Kudirat Abiola was allegedly killed for her persistent struggle to get the military reverse the annulment of the election considered to be the freest and most credible poll in the country and Africa at the time.

Upon arraignment and conclusion of prosecution, Justice Moji Dada of a Lagos State High Court found Al-Mustapha guilty on January 30, 2012, and subsequently sentenced him and his co-defendant to death by hanging.

However, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment on July 12, 2013, voided the decision of the high court, discharged and acquitted the defendants on the ground that the evidence against them was not strong enough to warrant the death sentence.

Dissatisfied, Lagos State in 2014, approached the apex court to upturn the verdict of the appellate court and restore that of the trial court which found the defendants guilty.

The appeal was however abandoned till 2017, when they came back, sought and obtained permission of the apex court to extend the time for them to file necessary documents against the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in a ruling in December 2017, gave the appellant 30 days to file its notice of appeal and other necessary documents.

But nine years after, the leave was granted, the appellant failed to file any process at the apex court.

When the matter was called, Paul Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria stood for Al-Mustapha and informed the Justices that the appellant has not taken any step to implement the order granted it in 2017 to re-open the trial, adding that not even a notice of appeal was filed to demonstrate its seriousness to prosecute the trial.

The senior lawyer informed the Apex Court that in 2017 when the order to re-open the trial was granted, Lagos was issued a 30-day ultimatum to file its notice of appeal.

Daudu explained that more than nine years after, nothing was done to comply with the order.

He, therefore, urged the court to hold that the appellant has abandoned the case and should be dismissed in its entirety.

Upon establishing that the appellant was served hearing notice and was also not present in court nor filed any process, the five-member panel of justices led by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji subsequently dismissed the case, on the grounds that the appellant has lost interest in the matter and consequently abandoned it.

Justice Aba-Aji held that nine years was long enough for the appellant to have filed notice of appeal and the brief of appeal in the matter.

Besides, the Court expressed disgust that no legal representation was made by the state government while no information was made available to the Court and the respondent despite being served with hearing notice since 2020.

Consequently, the matter marked: SC/CR/45/2014 was dismissed. Another matter by the Lagos governor marked: SC/CR/6/2014 on the same trial was also dismissed on the same grounds.