Supreme Court dismisses Al-Mustapha murder appeal after Lagos State failed to pursue case for nine years, ending the long-running Kudirat Abiola trial

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the protracted Al-Mustapha murder appeal, bringing an end to efforts by the Lagos State Government to reopen the prosecution of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd) over the assassination of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

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A five-member panel of the apex court ruled unanimously that the state government effectively abandoned its appeal by failing to take any procedural action for nine years.

Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, delivering the judgment, described the delay as “inexcusable,” noting that Lagos State had been granted leave in 2014 to challenge Al-Mustapha’s acquittal but never filed a notice of appeal.

Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to late military ruler General Sani Abacha, was prosecuted for the murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of presumed June 12, 1993 presidential election winner Chief Moshood Abiola.

She was killed in Lagos on June 4, 1996, during nationwide protests against the annulment of the historic election.

Al-Mustapha’s counsel, Mr Paul Daudu, SAN, informed the Supreme Court that despite repeated court directives, Lagos State had neither filed an appeal nor offered any explanation for its inaction.

The court confirmed that records from the registrar indicated the state had been duly served with hearing notices but failed to appear.

The panel ruled that nine years was ample time for the appellant to regularise its processes and expressed displeasure at the government’s prolonged absence from the proceedings.

Consequently, appeal SC/CR/45/2014 and a related appeal, SC/CR/6/2014, were both struck out.

The Supreme Court had originally granted Lagos State permission in 2014 to appeal out of time against the July 12, 2013 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had acquitted Al-Mustapha.

The order had required the state to file a notice of appeal within 30 days.

At the trial stage, a Lagos High Court had sentenced Al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha, and Lateef Shofolahan to death by hanging on January 30, 2012, for conspiracy and murder.

However, the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions in 2013, citing weak and unreliable evidence, and ordered their release.

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The Supreme Court’s decision now definitively ends one of Nigeria’s most high-profile and protracted legal battles, closing the chapter on the judicial pursuit of Kudirat Abiola’s killers.