Five-man panel of justices dismisses case in its entirety for Lagos govt’s failure to re-open trial since 2014…
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, dismissed the trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), the former Chief Security Officer to the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha, over the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late politician and presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola.
Recall that the result of the June 12, 1993 presidential election was annulled by former military President Ibrahim Babangida.
Kudirat Abiola was assassinated in Lagos in the nationwide crisis that followed the annulment of the election and in the course of her persistent struggle to get the annulment reversed by the military.
But Al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha and one Lateef Shofolahan were arrested and subsequently arraigned before a Lagos high court on a two-count criminal charge of conspiracy to commit murder and the murder of the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on June 4, 1996 in Lagos.
Justice Moji Dada, in the judgment of the high court delivered on January 30, 2012, found the accused persons culpable as charged and sentenced them to death by hanging.
Al-Mustapha, however, approached the Court of Appeal on April 27, 2012 for the review of the trial and the conviction, and the three-member appellate court justices, in a unanimous judgment of July 12, 2013, nullified the decision of the high court, set it aside and discharged and acquitted the accused persons on the ground that the evidence against them was not strong enough to warrant the death sentence.
The Lagos State Government however appealed against the judgement of the High Court at the Supreme Court in 2014.
But on Thursday, a five-man panel of Justices of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, brought to an end Al-Mustapha’s trial for the murder charges brought against him by the Lagos State Government, by dismissing the suit.
During Thursday’s proceedings where the Lagos State Government was scheduled to re-open the trial, no legal representation was made while no process was filed since 2014 when the order to re-open the case was granted in favour of the state government.
When the matter was called at the Supreme Court on Thursday, Paul Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stood for Al-Mustapha and informed the Justices that Lagos State Government had not taken any action to implement the order granted it in 2014 to re-open the trial.
Daudu told the apex court that the Lagos State Government had not filed even a notice of appeal as the appellant to demonstrate its seriousness to continue with the trial.
Al-Mustapha’s lawyer informed the apex court that in 2014 when the order to re-open the trial was granted, Lagos was issued a 30-day ultimatum to file its notice of appeal, but that nine years after, nothing had been done to comply with the order.
The SAN therefore urged the apex court justices to hold that Lagos State Government as the appellant, had abandoned the case and should be dismissed in its entirety.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, sought to know if the Lagos State Government was served with the hearing notice, and the Registrar of the apex court answered in the affirmative.
Delivering its brief ruling, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, said that the Lagos State Government had lost interest in the matter and consequently abandoned it.
Justice Aba-Aji held that nine years was long enough for the Lagos State Government, the appellant to have filed a notice of appeal and the appeal in the matter.
The apex court also expressed dismay that the Lagos State Government failed to make any legal representation and also failed to inform the apex court and the respondent.
The apex court consequently dismissed the matter marked SC/CR/45/2014.
Another matter by the Lagos governor marked SC/CR/6/2014 was also dismissed on the same ground.
The Supreme Court had in 2014 in a brief ruling on the application by Lagos State for permission to re-open the case out of time, granted the request for the state government to challenge the Court of Appeal decision of July 12, 2013 that discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha from the murder case.
The then Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, in the ruling of a panel of seven Justices, ordered Lagos State Government to file its notice of appeal within 30 days.
The decision of Justice Onnoghen on the Lagos application argued by Osunsanya Oluwayemisi, a Senior State Counsel in the Lagos Ministry of Justice followed the consent of Al-Mustapha’s lawyer, Mr. Joseph Dauda SAN, not to oppose the application.
The acting CJN had said that by the decision of the apex court, the time for Lagos to appeal against the findings of the Court of Appeal on the celebrated murder case has been extended from July 12, 2013 when the Court of Appeal judgment was delivered till January 7, 2014.
By the granted permission in 2014, the coast became clear for the Lagos State Government to challenge the no guilty verdict granted in favour of the military officer by the Court of Appeal in 2013.
In the then move to re-open the case, the Lagos State Government had sought to file a notice of appeal out of the time at the Supreme Court, asking for the permission of the court to allow it to challenge the Appeal Court findings of Justices Amina Adamu Augie, Rita Nosakhare Pemu and Fatimo Omoro Akinbami on the ground of miscarriage of justice in the matter.
The state had in the application prayed the apex court to allow it to exercise its constitutional right to test the validity and correctness of the decision of the Appeal Court.
It claimed that it wants to raise its ground of appeal on arguable legal and factual issues, especially the question of whether there is any direct or circumstantial evidence establishing the guilt passed on Al-Mustapha in the murder case.
It justified its lateness in filing the appeal on the ground that it set up two legal teams to review the circumstances of the case and the verdict of the Court of Appeal.
The government said that it took a long time for the two legal teams to present their findings and recommended that an appeal case can be filed and sustained.
Lagos State Government said that it will ask the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal which on July 12, 2013 discharged and acquitted Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, in the murder case of late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.
In place of the Appeal Court decision, the state government said that it will plead with the apex court to uphold and restore the death sentence by hanging placed on the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha by a Lagos High Court on January 30, 2012.
