The Supreme Court on Thursday drew the curtain on the protracted murder case of the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, rejecting efforts by the Lagos State Government to reopen the prosecution of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd).
In a unanimous ruling, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the state government effectively abandoned its appeal against Al-Mustapha’s acquittal by failing to take any procedural steps for nine years.
Al-Mustapha, who served as Chief Security Officer to former military ruler, General Sani Abacha, had been prosecuted over the killing of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola.
She was assassinated in Lagos on June 4, 1996, during nationwide protests against the annulment of the historic election.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Uwani Aba-Aji faulted the Lagos State Government for what she described as an inexcusable failure to pursue its appeal, despite being granted leave by the Supreme Court in 2014 to challenge Al-Mustapha’s acquittal.
When the case was called, Al-Mustapha’s counsel, Mr Paul Daudu, SAN, informed the court that the state government neither filed a notice of appeal nor took any action to comply with the court’s directive more than nine years after the order was made.
Daudu noted that Lagos State had been given 30 days in 2014 to file its appeal but failed to do so, arguing that the prolonged inaction clearly demonstrated a lack of interest in prosecuting the case.
He consequently urged the court to dismiss the appeal on grounds of abandonment.
Justice Aba-Aji confirmed that records from the court registrar showed that Lagos State had been duly served with hearing notices but neither appeared in court nor offered any explanation for its absence.
In a brief decision, the panel held that nine years was more than sufficient time for the appellant to regularise its processes, expressing displeasure that the state government neither entered appearance nor communicated with the court, despite being aware of the proceedings since 2020.
As a result, the appeal marked SC/CR/45/2014 was dismissed. A related appeal filed by the Lagos State Government, numbered SC/CR/6/2014, was also struck out for the same reason.
The Supreme Court had earlier, in 2014, granted Lagos State permission to appeal out of time against the July 12, 2013 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha.
The order, issued by a seven-man panel led by then Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, directed the state to file its notice of appeal within 30 days.
That ruling followed the state’s request for additional time to review the case and challenge the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that the evidence against Al-Mustapha was insufficient.
At the trial stage, a Lagos High Court on January 30, 2012, had sentenced Al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan to death by hanging for conspiracy and murder. However, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in 2013, citing weak and unreliable evidence, and ordered their release.
