The Supreme Court on Thursday brought an end to the long-running murder case of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, rejecting Lagos State Government’s attempt to reopen the prosecution of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.).
In a unanimous decision, a five-justice panel ruled that Lagos State had effectively abandoned its appeal against Al-Mustapha’s 2013 acquittal by failing to take any legal action for nine years.
Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late military ruler General Sani Abacha, was tried for the 1996 assassination of Kudirat Abiola, wife of Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Uwani Aba-Aji criticized Lagos State for its “inexcusable” failure to pursue the appeal, despite being granted permission by the Supreme Court in 2014 to reopen the case.
Counsel to Al-Mustapha, Mr. Paul Daudu (SAN), informed the court that the state neither filed a notice of appeal nor complied with the court’s orders over the nine-year period, arguing that this demonstrated a clear abandonment of the case.
The court confirmed that Lagos State had been duly served with hearing notices but failed to appear or provide any explanation. The justices ruled that nine years was more than enough time to take the required steps, and expressed displeasure that the state had not communicated with the court despite being aware of proceedings since 2020.
Consequently, the appeals marked SC/CR/45/2014 and SC/CR/6/2014 were both dismissed.
The original case dates back to January 30, 2012, when a Lagos High Court sentenced Al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha, and Lateef Shofolahan to death for conspiracy and murder. The Court of Appeal overturned the convictions in 2013 due to insufficient and unreliable evidence.
Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling effectively ends all legal attempts to prosecute Al-Mustapha nearly three decades after Kudirat Abiola’s assassination.
