The Supreme Court has dismissed the long-standing attempt by the Lagos State Government to reopen the trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, over the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.
Kudirat Abiola, wife of Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, was assassinated in Lagos on June 4, 1996, during the nationwide unrest that followed the annulment.
A five-member panel of Justices led by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji ruled that Lagos had abandoned its appeal, noting that since 2014, when permission was granted to reopen the case, the state had failed to file any process or provide legal representation despite repeated hearing notices.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Paul Daudu, representing Al-Mustapha, informed the Court that Lagos had ignored the 30-day ultimatum issued in 2014 to file its notice of appeal. “Nine years is far beyond reasonable time,” Justice Aba-Aji said, describing the state’s conduct as a clear abandonment of the case.
The matter, marked SC/CR/45/2014, was dismissed, along with another related appeal, SC/CR/6/2014, filed by the Lagos State Government.
In 2014, the Supreme Court had granted Lagos permission to challenge the Court of Appeal’s July 12, 2013 judgment, which discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha. However, the state failed to comply with the directive to file its appeal.
