The Supreme Court has dismissed the case seeking to revive the murder trial of Major Hamza Al Mustapha over the killing of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of the 1993 presidential election. The apex court held that Lagos State had abandoned the matter after failing to take any steps since 2014.
Kudirat Abiola was assassinated in Lagos on June 4, 1996, during nationwide protests against the annulment of her husband MKO Abiola’s election victory. Al Mustapha, then Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, was charged alongside Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan on counts of conspiracy and murder.
In January 2012, a Lagos High Court convicted the defendants and sentenced them to death by hanging. However, the Court of Appeal in July 2013 overturned the judgment, discharged and acquitted them, ruling that the prosecution had not provided sufficient evidence for conviction.
Lagos State later obtained leave from the Supreme Court in 2014 to file an appeal out of time against the acquittal. The state was given 30 days to file its notice of appeal but never did so and did not file any further processes.
When the matter came up on Thursday, counsel to Al Mustapha, Paul Daudu, SAN, informed the court that Lagos had failed to act on the 2014 order and had shown no seriousness about pursuing the case. He asked the court to hold that the state had abandoned the appeal.
A five member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Uwani Aba Aji confirmed that Lagos was duly served with a hearing notice but was not represented in court and had filed no explanation. The panel ruled that nine years was more than enough time to file an appeal and concluded that the state had lost interest in the matter.
The court therefore dismissed the case, marked SC/CR/45/2014, bringing an end to efforts to reinstate Al Mustapha’s conviction over Kudirat Abiola’s murder.
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