The trial of Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha for the murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, at a Lagos High Court,Igbosere, may get a judgment date today.
Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, and his co-accused, Lateef Shofolahan, were charged 13 years ago with conspiracy and murder of Kudirat. They closed their defence on August 17 following which Justice Mojisola Dada adjourned till today for adoption of written addresses.
Matters are usually adjourned for judgment after prosecution and defence counsel adopt their final addresses in criminal proceedings.
Dada had, in a ruling on July 15, directed Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan to open their defence after she dismissed their no-case submission. She held that the accused had case to answer in the murder of Kudirat.
Al-Mustapha began his defence on August 2.
In his testimonies, he accused a former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, of being responsible for his long incarceration out of fear that he would divulge the secrets of how Abacha and Abiola died.
Led in evidence by his counsel, Olalekan Ojo, the ex-CSO also alleged d that the government of Abubakar withdrew $200m, £75m and N200m to appease South-West leaders in the wake of Abiola’s death in 1998.
He claimed that the leaders of the Yoruba pan-cultural group, Afenifere, including the late Abraham Adesanya and Bola Ige were used to delay the release of Abiola from detention until he was eventually “murdered”.
In his bid to prove his allegation, he tendered a video footage of the purported departure of the late Afenifere leaders’ from the Presidential Villa in Abuja, a day after Abiola died.
The video was shown in the open court, in which Adesanya, in company with Ige and others addressed journalists on what needed to be done after Abiola’s death.
Though, during cross-examination by the prosecution lead counsel, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN), al-Mustapha later turned arround to say the people, who allegedly visited Abubakar “to be bribed”, the following day Abiola died were not just Afenifere leaders but leaders of the then National Democratic Coalition
Shofolahan also stunned the court in his defence, by denying ever working directly for Kudirat. He also retracted all the statements he made before they were arraigned in 1998.
He insisted most of content of the statements were made by him under duress.
Findings by our correspondent indicated that the prosecution and defence counsel had exchanged all necessary written addresses
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SOURCE: Punch Newspaper, 10 November 2011. http://punchontheweb.com
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