The Supreme Court has dismissed the attempt to revive the murder trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), former Chief Security Officer to late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, over the killing of Kudirat Abiola.
The apex court held that Lagos State had abandoned its appeal to reopen the case, having failed for more than nine years to take any procedural steps following the court’s 2014 order granting it permission to do so.
During proceedings, no legal representative appeared for Lagos State, despite being duly served with hearing notices. No processes had also been filed since 2014, when the Supreme Court granted the state leave to reopen the case.
Counsel to Al-Mustapha, Paul Daudu (SAN), told the court that Lagos State had failed to demonstrate any seriousness in prosecuting the appeal, noting that it neither filed a notice of appeal nor complied with the 30-day deadline imposed by the court in 2014.
Daudu urged the court to hold that the appellant had lost interest in the matter and formally abandoned the case.
Presiding Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji confirmed that Lagos State had been served with hearing notices. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court agreed that the prolonged inaction amounted to abandonment.
Justice Aba-Aji held that nine years was more than sufficient for the state to have filed its notice and brief of appeal. The court also expressed dismay at the absence of legal representation for Lagos State and the lack of any explanation, despite service of hearing notices since 2020.
Consequently, the appeal was dismissed. A related matter filed by the Lagos State Governor arising from the same case was also struck out on identical grounds.
Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late businessman and politician Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, was assassinated in Lagos on June 4, 1996, during the political unrest that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, widely believed to have been won by Abiola.
In 2014, the Supreme Court, then presided over by Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen had granted Lagos State permission to challenge the July 12, 2013 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha. The court ordered the state to file its notice of appeal within 30 days.
That ruling followed Lagos State’s application to file an appeal out of time, arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in overturning the death sentence earlier imposed on Al-Mustapha. The application was not opposed by Al-Mustapha’s counsel at the time.
The Court of Appeal had nullified the January 30, 2012 judgment of the Lagos High Court, which sentenced Al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha, and the late Lateef Shofolahan to death by hanging for conspiracy and murder. The appellate court held that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Despite securing leave to reopen the matter, Lagos State took no further action, prompting the Supreme Court to formally bring the long-running case to an end.
