Supreme Court Dismisses Hamza Al-Mustapha’s Kudirat Abiola Murder Trial Over Lagos State’s Inaction

Appeal case thrown out after Lagos fails to reopen prosecution for nine years

The Supreme Court has dismissed the trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late military ruler General Sani Abacha, over the murder of activist Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

The decision, delivered on Thursday by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, came after the Lagos State government failed to take any steps to reopen the case despite a 2014 court order granting it permission to do so.

Kudirat Abiola, the wife of the late businessman and politician Chief MKO Abiola, was killed in Lagos during the political unrest that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. She was a prominent advocate for the reinstatement of the election.

Lagos State loses case due to prolonged silence

When the matter was called, no lawyer appeared for Lagos State, and no court documents had been filed since 2014, despite the state being ordered to reopen the trial and file an appeal.

Al-Mustapha’s lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Paul Daudu, told the court that Lagos had not even filed a notice of appeal, adding that the state was given a 30-day deadline to do so.

He argued that the state’s failure to act for more than nine years amounted to abandonment of the case and urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal.

The court agreed, stating that the state’s lack of representation and absence of any action showed a loss of interest in the matter.

Justice Aba-Aji said nine years was long enough for Lagos to have filed the necessary appeal, and the court expressed disappointment over the state government’s failure to appear in court.

As a result, the case, marked SC/CR/45/2014, was dismissed. Another case brought by the Lagos governor, marked SC/CR/6/2014, was also dismissed for the same reason.

Background of the legal battle

In 2014, the Supreme Court had granted Lagos State permission to reopen the case and challenge the Court of Appeal’s 2013 judgment that discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha.

The appeal court had overturned a 2012 Lagos High Court conviction that sentenced Al-Mustapha to death by hanging for the murder of Kudirat Abiola.

The Lagos State government had sought to reinstate the death sentence, arguing that the evidence presented in the appeal court was insufficient to justify acquittal. The state claimed it needed more time to review the case through legal teams before filing an appeal.

2012 conviction and 2013 acquittal

Al-Mustapha, alongside Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan, was initially charged with conspiracy and the murder of Kudirat Abiola, who was killed on June 4, 1996.

A Lagos High Court, presided over by Justice Moji Dada, convicted the accused in January 2012 and sentenced them to death by hanging.

However, in July 2013, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction, ruling that the evidence against the accused was not strong enough to support the death sentence.