Nearly 30 years after the killing of Kudirat Abiola, the Supreme Court has dismissed the case against Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd) over the murder.
The apex court ruled that the Lagos State Government abandoned its attempt to reopen the trial after failing to take any legal steps since securing permission to do so in 2014. At the hearing, the state neither appeared in court nor filed any process to indicate readiness to proceed.
Counsel to Al-Mustapha, Paul Daudu, told the court that Lagos State had not filed a notice of appeal or any supporting briefs for over nine years, describing the delay as a clear lack of seriousness. Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, who presided over the matter, agreed, noting that the period was more than sufficient for the state to pursue the case.
The court also faulted Lagos State for ignoring hearing notices served since 2020 and failing to communicate with the defence. On this basis, the Supreme Court dismissed the case in its entirety.
Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late businessman and politician MKO Abiola, was assassinated in Lagos during the political crisis that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
Al-Mustapha, along with Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan, was arraigned in 1996 on charges of conspiracy and murder. Although a Lagos High Court sentenced them to death in 2012, the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions in 2013 for lack of sufficient evidence.
