Acquittal of Al-Mustapha is travesty of justice - Akinnola • As MKO’s son, lawyers, others charge Lagos govt to take case to S’Court A lagos lawyer, Mr. Richard Akinnola, has described the judgment of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal that upturned the judgment of a Lagos High Court that sentenced Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former chief security officer to the late head of state, General Sani Abacha to death by hanging, as travesty of justice. The higher court accused the lower court of being ‘stroked to secure a conviction by all means.’ The Court of Appeal also freed the second accused person in the murder case, Alhaji Lateef Sofolahan. He disclosed this at the media presentation of his new book: A Travesty of Justice: The Acquittal of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and others over the Murder of Kudirat Abiola, at the Excellence Hotel, Ogba, Lagos, yesterday. Kudirat was the wife of the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential elections, Chief M.K.O. Abiola. She was murdered on June 4, 1996, at the age of 45. The media presentation of the book was held barely 17 days after the decision of the Court of Appeal. But Akinnola, the last child of the late Kudirat Abiola, Mr. Abdul Abiola, and other stakeholders at the ceremony were not happy that the Lagos State Government has not taken the case to the Supreme Court for final determination, urging the government to do so before the 30 days appeal period would lapse. The ceremony was attended by the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, The Nigerian Lawyers Journal, Mr. Osa Director, who reviewed the book which has 99 pages divided into four chapters. Former chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye and a close associate of the late rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Mr. Adindu Ugwuzor also graced the occasion. Akinnola said: “When the judgment came, I was not surprised. But what shocked me actually was the intensity of the political manoeuvring immediately after the judgment, particularly the attitude of the political elite which further validated the fact that this acquittal is nothing but a political manoeuvring. “The judgment was not just a judicial decision; it was a political judicial decision. I feel hurt personally because we are talking about human lives. We are not talking about civil matters. Lives have been lost, people have lost their parents, people have lost their dependants and people have become orphans because of this.” In his comment, Abdul Abiola noted that justice delayed is justice denied, adding that he had come to terms with the death of his mother. He vowed that the family would not relent in their efforts until the Supreme Court determines the case. He said: “During the military era, people could not talk because there was no freedom of expression. Now, we are in a democracy and people are talking because they have freedom of expression but nobody is listening.” A lawyer, Adindu Ugwuzor, noted that Al-Mustapha and Sofolahan had got justice, saying Mrs. Kudirat Abiola and the society must also get justice. Former council boss in Ogun State, Mr. Oladunjoye, was not happy that since the demise of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the country had not got such a vibrant and fearless lawyer and rights activist.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 08:08:07 +0000
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