The Supreme Court has dismissed the murder case against retired Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who was the Chief Security Officer to late military ruler, General Sani Abacha. The case was about the killing of late politician, Kudirat Abiola, which happened in Lagos in 1996.
Recall that Kudirat Abiola was the wife of MKO Abiola, the man believed to have won the June 12, 1993 presidential election that was later cancelled. She was killed during protests and unrest that followed the annulment of the election while she was actively calling for democracy to be restored.
The case was brought by the Lagos State Government, but the Supreme Court ruled this Thursday, that the state failed to take any action for over nine years after it was given permission in 2014 to reopen the trial. The court noted that Lagos did not file any appeal or send lawyers to court to pursue the case.
Al-Mustapha’s lawyer told the court that Lagos State showed no seriousness in prosecuting the case and had completely abandoned it.
In its final decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the case and officially brought the long trial to an end.