Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security
Officer to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, was discharged and
acquitted last Friday by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Lagos.
In a statement by its Publicity
Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, on Monday, the ACN said the judgment by the
Appeal Court, was yet another indictment on the capacity of the nation’s
judiciary to avail Nigerians of justice.
“Al-Mustapha’s acquittal is a shame and
follows a pattern that has never punished high networth offenders for
crimes they committed against the state or fellows Nigerians,” the
statement read.
The party said it was still in shock
over Al- Mustapha’s acquittal, given all evidence that had so far been
tendered against him and his co-accused, Lateef Shofolahan.
It said, “Weighty evidence had been
proferred against Al-Mustapha, including confessions of Sergeant Rogers,
Maj. Muhammed Abdul, (the men that allegedly pulled the trigger that
killed Mrs. Abiola) and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahun.
“Dismissing the case for lack of
evidence seems to be a way of ensuring that Al-Mustapha escapes justice
for the acts of crime and not in any way helping the soiled image of the
Nigerian judiciary.”
The party noted that the acquittal came a
few days after a popular Internet news site did a detailed report of an
extensive plan to free Al-Mustapha and ensure that he escaped
punishment for Kudirat’s death.
ACN said, “We believe that the
judiciary, by this questionable verdict, is hoping to consign the
killing of Kudirat Abiola to the long list of unsolved assassination
cases that haunt the country today.
“While we align ourselves with the
opinions of millions of Nigerians, who have called on the Lagos State
Government to appeal the latest verdict and diligently pursue the course
of justice for the slain Kudirat Abiola, we state that Nigeria is
sitting on a keg of gun powder if Nigerians could be killed at will and
their killing shoved under the carpet.”
Al-Mustapha should go back to jail. Who can deny that he was not the sponsor of Kudirat Abiola's murder? It is shameful the way he is being celebrated today.
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