By BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE

As Nigerians continue to remember the passing away of presumed winner of June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, who died in incarceration in1998 after being denied his mandate, legal battle over the murder of his wife, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, is still raging following the conviction of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan, by a Lagos State High Court.

Al-Mustapha, who was the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and Shofolahan, former Personal Assistant to late Kudirat, were sentenced to death following their arraignment on a four-count charge of conspiracy and their involvement in the 1996 murder of the deceased, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Kudirat’s murder case was adjudged to be the longest criminal trials ever experienced in the nation’s history, lasting more than 12 years with five successive judges during which time the accused persons were held in detention. This time in prison calendar is equivalent to 20 years, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State High Court found Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan guilty of the offence and accordingly sentenced them to death by hanging.

Alhaji Shofolahan, Late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and Major Hamazat Al-Mustapha

The prosecution, led by Lagos State Solicitor General- Lawal Pedro SAN, had accused Al-Mustapha of ordering Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (a.k.a Sgt Rogers) to kill Kudirat. At that time Sgt Rogers was a member of both the dreaded Strike Force and Body Guards – military units within the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“Evidence was manifestedly heavy that they killed Kudiratu Abiola. In view of this, they are guilty of conspiracy and murder,” Dada said in her ruling which lasted several hours. She added, “the prosecution has proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt. In view of this, they should be hanged.”

Justice Dada held that Sofolahan acted as Judas Iscariot, saying “He was friend to the Abiola family in the open and enemy in secret. He sacrificed his master (Kudirat) because of his personal greed. He was a viper.”

The duo in their notices of appeal filed before the Court of Appeal, Lagos, described the judgment as “unreasonable, unwarranted and cannot be supported for having disregard to the totality of evidence before the trial court.”

Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan’s appeal was predicated on five grounds as they urged the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s decision and quash the sentence against them, noting that Justice Dada erred in law by holding that the contradictions in the evidence by Sgt Rogers – the second prosecution witness (PW2) and Mohammed Abdul (Katako)  – the third prosecution witness (PW3) were immaterial. They pointed out that the said contradiction in both witnesses’ evidence, were actually relevant to their case and ought to have been admitted in evidence.

Their second ground of appeal was that Justice Dada erred when she relied on the evidence of the first prosecution witness, Dr. Ore Falomo, a medical doctor, to the effect that the bullet extracted from the late Kudirat was a special one, not commonly seen.

They queried the trial judge’s decision to rely on the information by Falomo, knowing that he (Falomo) is neither a Ballistician nor an expert in that field of science. In ground three, the appellants accused Justice Dada of exhibiting bias against them by allegedly rejecting portions of Rogers’ and Katako’s evidences that favoured them, but accepted and relied on the portions that were unfavourable to them.

However, during Monday (June 10) proceeding at the appellate court, counsel to Al-Mustapha, former NBA President, Mr Joseph Daudu SAN, urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the lower court, arguing that the lower court erred in law to have based its judgment on the testimonies of PW1 (Sgt. Rogers) and PW2 (Katako), which he said was contradictory.

“The testimonies of PW1 and PW2 were inconclusive and contradictory. The court drew inferences from these contradictory statements, to establish the guilty of the appellants. It is my submission that those inferences, upon which the court based its judgment, were merely political evidence formulated by the respondent, and which the trial court ought not to have considered. I therefore urge the court to allow this appeal, and quash the judgment of the lower court,” Daudu submitted.

Counsel to Shofolahan, Mr Olalekan Ojo, aligned himself with the Daudu’s submission.

However, counsel to the respondent Pedro, in his response, urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit and uphold the judgment of the lower court, saying that apart from the evidence of PW1 and PW2, there were other evidence from the defendants which supports the counts of conspiracy and murder.

The appellate court panel made up of Justice Rita Pemu, Justice F. O. Akinbami, and led by Justice Amina Adamu Augie, reserved the appeal for judgment after the counsel to the appellants and respondent adopted their brief of argument. The court told appellants that the date shall be communicated to them.