The Supreme Court has dismissed the case against Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, in connection with the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.
Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late businessman and politician Chief MKO Abiola—the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election—was killed in Lagos during the political crisis that followed the annulment.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, a five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji struck out the appeal filed by the Lagos State Government, ruling that the state had abandoned the case.
At the hearing, Lagos State had no legal representation and had filed no processes since 2014, when the Supreme Court granted it permission to re-open the trial. Counsel to Al-Mustapha, Paul Daudu (SAN), told the court that Lagos failed to file a notice of appeal within the 30 days ordered by the court in 2014, adding that no steps had been taken for more than nine years.
Justice Aba-Aji confirmed that Lagos State was duly served with hearing notices but held that the prolonged inaction showed a lack of interest in prosecuting the appeal. The court described the situation as unacceptable and dismissed the matter marked SC/CR/45/2014. A related appeal filed by the Lagos governor, marked SC/CR/6/2014, was also dismissed on the same grounds.
The Supreme Court had in January 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, made by a seven-member panel led by then Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, directed the state to file its notice of appeal within 30 days.
Al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha, and Lateef Shofolahan were initially tried by a Lagos High Court on charges of conspiracy and murder over the June 4, 1996 killing of Kudirat Abiola. In January 2012, the High Court sentenced them to death. However, the Court of Appeal overturned the verdict in July 2013, citing insufficient evidence, and acquitted the defendants.
With Thursday’s ruling, the Supreme Court has effectively brought the long-running case to a close.