31st January, 2012
Nigerians, especially human rights activists and lawyers have reacted to the death sentence passed on Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Mr. Lateef Sofolahan for their roles in the killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and others during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
Commenting on the death sentence, Barrister Supo Osewa said Justice Mojisola Dada is a judge well grounded in criminal matters and the decision must have been based on the evidence before her. In other words, the prosecution must have proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“I salute her courage. Based on activities of Al-Mustapha and his cohorts while in power, the judgment was applauded by the people,” Osewa added.
Reacting, a Lagos-based lawyer, Johnson Ezezebor said, “people who take the lives of others do not deserve to live. But another question is why was the trial? So long. This must have generated sympathy for the convict; people will now contend that why should they convict him after spending so many years in detention. It must be found out who caused the delay. Anyway, it is a sound judgment.”
Another Lagos lawyer, Abubakar Samsideen differed. He said the convict should not have been convicted based on the fact that in a capital offence, all doubting issues must be resolved in the favour of the accused.
“In this case, the witnesses who said they were sent to kill Kudirat came back to tell the court that they were coerced to lie against the accused. Therefore, the doubt should have been resolved in favour of the convict.”
Also commenting, another lawyer, Chuks Nwachukwu said no matter how sound the judgment may be, a party who is not satisfied with it has a right of appeal.
Therefore, that is not the end of the case.
A lawyer who craved anonymity said it was crystally clear that all the deaths recorded during the dark era of Abacha regime were politically motivated.
He said: “They were unresolved killings too of Alhaja Suliat Adedeji, a political leader in Ibadan, the death of the son of a former Attorney General of the Federation, Olu Onagoruwa, the late Alex Ibru was brutally attacked, also Pa Abraham Adesanya was attacked but saved by divine intervention. Therefore, the judgment must be applauded.”
Human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu said he was happy with the judgment but noted that the case had dragged for too long.
“The battle had long been drawn. The Lesson we should learn from this is that we need to amend our criminal laws because of the poor. The other lesson is that people in position of authority should know that the law will catch up with them no matter how long when they do wrong,” he stated.
Hafsat Abiola-Costello, daughter of Kudirat said she was so happy with the judgement, saying on her Facebook wall that, “God doesn’t sleep. Justice for mum at last. I am so happy.”
Hafsat added that Al-Mustapha’s death sentence ruling was “Long Overdue”.
Hafsat’s reaction came less than two hours after the Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere sentenced to death Al-Mustapha, and Shofolahan.
She described the sentence as a judgement for Nigerians and said it was long overdue, during an interview with a Lagos-based television outfit while reacting to the judgement.
Hafsat Abiola says the judgement has further confirmed the judiciary in the country as the last hope of the Nigerian masses.
She said there had been “no doubt” about Al-Mustapha’s involvement in her mother’s killing, adding that it brings some closure to the family still grieving the loss.
Mrs. Costello says that life without the late Kudirat Abiola has been difficult, but adds that the family finds solace in the fact that she died in the struggle for the emancipation of the people.
Publicity Secretary, Lagos Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Mr. Joe Igbokwe said “after almost 12 years of waiting for justice to be done, it finally came with a resounding notice that no matter how long it takes, evil people will always get reward for their evil machinations.
“Who did not know the details of Al-Mustapha’s many atrocities in the days of Abacha? Who did not know how he plotted and eliminated many of Abacha’s perceived enemies then without knowing that judgement day is coming?
“Who did not know how he personally humiliated and disgraced generals in the army and kept them waiting for days to have audience with Abacha? Who did not know that he kept and maintained a killer squad who killed many Nigerians, including Kudirat Abiola to sustain Abacha’s dictatorship?” he asked.
“This judgment is a welcome development and this shows at once that there is hope for this country. It gives hope to the hopeless and provides a healing balm to the wounded,” he added.
Speaking with P.M.NEWS, the spokesperson, Save Nigeria Group, Yinka Odumakin said he was happy that aftet several years, the long arm of justice had caught up with the accused.
“This is a big lesson for those in charge of state apparatus. No matter how long, justice will be done. The judgement is for the memory of those killed. I commend the judiciary,” he said.
Founder, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, congratulated the judiciary for allowing justice to be done in the matter, saying that no matter how long a case might be, justice would surely prevail.
Secretary, Joint Action Congress, JAC, Comrade Abiodun Aremu said it was unfortunate “we have a case whose judgment had been prolonged and it is sad that we have not come to the end of it.
“This matter will go as far as to the Supreme Court and we hope that other courts will accelerate the judgement. The judiciary needs to wake up. The case has dragged for too long.”
National President, Campaign for Democracy, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said the sentence was a vindication of the judicial process.
According to her, with the sentence, the spirit of the late Kudirat Abiola, the wife of the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 election, MKO Abiola, would now be able to rest in peace.
“The sentence is a vindication of the judicial process. The mill of justice may grind slowly but it surely rolls eventually. With this judgment, I think the spirit of Kudirat Abiola may now rest in peace. The judgment has once again proved that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man,” she stated.
Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, as well Lateef Sofolahan, the protocol officer for the deceased masterminded her murder.
Barnabas Jabila, popularly known as Sergeant Rogers, was the government witness in the case.
Jabila was the head of the Strike Force during Abacha’s reign and he told the court that Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan were part of the group that plotted the death of Kudirat on June 4, 1996.
Kudirat’s husband, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, won the June 12, 1993 election, which was annulled by the regime of former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, with the support of Abacha.
It was during the struggle to actualise the mandate that Kudirat was shot dead near 7UP junction in Lagos.
This was during Abacha’s reign. Abiola also died in controversial circumstances in detention on 7 July, 1998.
—Akin Kuolniyi, Kazeem Ugbodaga & Jamiu Yisa