Maxymilliano:

The court upturned the judgement of a Lagos High Court.
The Court of Appeal in Lagos has discharged and acquittedHamza Al-Mustapha from the murder of Kudirat Abiola.

The judgment overturns that of the Lagos High Court which sentenced him to death by hanging.

The presiding judge accused the lower court of being“stroked to secure a conviction by all means.”

Mr. Al-Mustapha was a former chief security officer to the late dictator, Sani Abacha.

He was sentenced to death on January 30 for conspiracy and murder of Mrs. Abiola.

Mrs. Abiola, 45, was shot in Lagos on June 4, 1996, as the lower court ruled, on the orders of Mr. Al-Mustapha.

Details later…

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/140798-breaking-court-of-appeal-sets-al-mustapha-free.html

Another attempt by the Presidency to throw confusions between the SW and the North people.... Good strategic but let see how this play out

Jarus: I saw him at Union Diagnostics (a lab in VI) 2 years ago.

I had gone there to run my routine annual medicals when I entered the compound and saw army officers around. I was wondering what was going on. I got inside and saw Al-Mustapha and his wife. He had come from prison for medical test obviously. Sat beside me.

and so wat? did u read the topic at all? He did not lost .........what we are saying is that Al.mustapha has been freed.ok? cos i dnt knw why u are giving us this super story

He (like all of us) should make sure that heavens courts will also discharge him or else it is a phyrric victory.

iykak47: Tinubu and Buhari need to explain something because the case was handled by Lagos state government not federal government. Tinubu and Buhari have released Al mustapha oooh, no wonder Acn supporters are avoiding this thread but when it comes to GEJ, PDP, SE/SS they open their big mouths.
Anyway some people don't want to displease their masters from the north. Yeye

this is just senseless

©

was Lateef Shofolahan freed too??

Hezron Lorraine: I was already sympathizing with the bandwagons of 'he was only following orders' till I saw this.
This is a very interesting point of arguement that the prosecuting counsel could have made use of in court.
There's a good legal fronting in his case,he's favoured by the appellate court.

there was never an argument of "he was following orders".hamza denied any complicity in the deaths of kudirat and rewana and the attempted murder of ibru.he claimed he never ordered them be killed neither did any such order ever exist.that's the crux of the case and not whether he received orders or not

Briz:

Do you mean Nawa won Nigeria 4 goals to nil. It can't be, i trust my Keshi.

Honestly we need people like you here.

Congrats to the guy,he can now go home and rest,15 years in detention is no joke and for those waiting for some sleazy stuff from the guy you go wait tire!!!!.
naija of 2013 snd naija of 1998 are centuries apart,as at that time there was no gsm,facebook,youtube and all the stuff we are used to now, i dont know much about the military but i can guess that his course mates are Major generals or even retired by now,so what noise is he going to make.he had better sit down and enjoy his loot if any remains and stay out of trouble.15 years in detention is no joke.

Am still thinking who Al-Mustapha was, is and will be

This website seems to be populated by young people.

The opinions of adults who lived in Nigeria under the military is very different from those of idealistic young men who think "revolutions" are romantic.

Just for the records, almost every revolutionaire became a worsr dictator that the person he dethroned. (Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro etc).

Without a doubt economic progress comes from long sustained periods of relative peace. Hence the rapid growth of the world in the last 100 years versus the periods of the wars of the 12th to 16th centuries.

Anyway please find here a few articles about the killing of Kudirat Abiola.

That she was KILLED by agents of the Federal Nigerian Government should not be in doubt.

Then form your opinions.
A former Court of Appeal judge resigns from the case over alledged interference here http://news.naij.com/38711.html

A witness at the killing here: http://ofilis1234./2007/11/28/how-we-killed-kudirat-abiola-witness/

Al-Mustapha here: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/abdulsalami-wanted-obj-killed-al-mustapha/

Well, this judgement may not be the final, as the prosecution may file an appeal (not sure if the Prosecution can appeal a ruling in Naija). However, it will be a huge relief to him and his family after being incarcerated for 14 years.
For those insinuating that Buhari and Tinubu 'released' him; that can't be possible. Remember that Al Mustapha was sentenced to death by a Lagos State High Court, not a Federal High Court. Besides, he has been acquired by a Federal Appeals court.
As he is still an Army officer, he may decide to re-integrate himself back into the military or summarily retire from service.

kehinde1588: yes! AM an english teacher. Are u a LEARNA or a business man?wats ur problem?if na job i get 1 4u.if i neva corrected him,he will make d silly error again and d mockery might b worst than dis...we live to learn no one is perfect.... And for you,u no correct him u con dey blame me 4 making correction nawa ooo.pple like u remain enemy of progress forever

mr English Teacher! Correct yourself first! Before correcting someone else! At this Age you can't differentiate between Am and I am or I'm. .... Again it's LEARNER not learna!

I'm so HAPPY 4 HIM

howfarwhatagwan: From the comments I'm confused are Nigerians celebrating that he has been discharged and acquitted or what?

If he carried out orders to murder someone then he is an accomplice to murder and should not be acquitted. If one is arguing that his sentence to death for being an accomplice is too much of a verdict it is a different matter oh but that someone was an accomplice to murder and people are saying he only followed orders so should be acquitted must be a joke oh. If that is how the law works then we can all get away with anything.

Oh my beloved country I am lost oh I don't understand our ways anymore let alone our thoughts.

Just put it this way. If MKO died to create the democracy we practice, that is the election of the Executive and our representatives then will it be far fetched to say Kudirat died to establish the third, unelected arm of government, the Judiciary.

Will it not have been fantastic if this landmark case had been the tonic to reinvigorate a near comatose criminal justice system.

But we know things don't work like that in Nigeria. What we prefer is shock treatment to get things going. So if this ruling hurts perhaps its time for all concerned to focus for the much needed judicial/law enforcement reforms that will be worth her sacrifice.

Reptyle: Fair judgement for a man who was about to be made a scapegoat for the atrocities of an atrocious era, while his paymasters continue to flourish in the corridors of power.

Shame on IBB, Abdulsalam, Jerry Useni and the rest of them who were all senior players in that era but chose to sacrifice a mere foot soldier like Al-Mustapha to assuage the thirst of Nigerians for justice.

May the souls of Kudirat and all the other martyrs of democracy rest in perfect peace.

its unfortunate that majority of the youths today don't know what transpired in that era.that's the only reason a person would say hamza was a "mere foot soldier".a man whose name evoked fear in generals.

This man is the Nelsom Mandela of Nigeria.

CFCfan: Well, this judgement may not be the final, as the prosecution may file an appeal (not sure if the Prosecution can appeal a ruling in Naija). However, it will be a huge relief to him and his family after being incarcerated for 14 years.
For those insinuating that Buhari and Tinubu 'released' him; that can't be possible. Remember that Al Mustapha was sentenced to death by a Lagos State High Court, not a Federal High Court. Besides, he has been acquired by a Federal Appeals court.
As he is still an Army officer, he may decide to re-integrate himself back into the military or summarily retire from service.

Can you please give me a concise unauthorised biography of the guy, his crime(s), and why loads of people are interested in this topic? The thread looks like a packed ghetto cinema after boyz n the hood came out.

I hope this GEJ'S absent is not something else? You better start coming home before they will remove your shoe again o.
Maximum protection for Almustapher please, some aggrieved general may do something funny.

Gej go suffer 4 this, this one is d greatest mistake he has ever made

Wow am happy for Almustafa

No problem, gej will regret this

Ogbonaikenna: Lets see what the SW will say

Good news! Also just to remind fellow nairalanders that Al-mustapha is still a major in the nigerian army.

If u like rejoice 4 him,i blame drunkard gej who knows notin abt nigeria, people like him r nt worthy to rule nigeria

Mzbank_s: Wow am happy for Almustafa

ShyM-X:


Can you please give me a concise unauthorised biography of the guy, his crime(s), and why loads of people are interested in this topic? The thread looks like a packed ghetto cinema after boyz n the hood came out.

He was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha from 1993 to 1998. He was also part of a 'strike force' which was authorized by Abacha to take care of his perceived enemies. The killings of Pa Alfred Rewane, Kudirat Abiola et al were all the handiwork of this strike force, in which Al Mustapha was also a member/leader.

wow, this guy was released at last, I knew this is going to happen, Naija I hail thee

Thank you all for standing by me through these dark days.

Kano things on my mind.

Alhamdulillah.

jmaine:

I agree to an extent, but who are the culprits . . . .

Probably those who don't want him to spill what he knows...

CFCfan:

He was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha from 1993 to 1998. He was also part of a 'strike force' which was authorized by Abacha to take care of his perceived enemies. The killings of Pa Alfred Rewane, Kudirat Abiola et al were all the handiwork of this strike force, in which Al Mustapha was also a member/leader.

Word?

So he's naija's version of Libya's Abdullah al-Senussi.

Thanks, bruddah. No comment.

kehinde1588: bros,hw did u manage to pass ur external xams? I wonder.."has gone" nt "has went"

bros u sharp oh

Al Mustapha for president!!!

al-mustapha007:
Thank you all for standing by me through these dark days.

Kano things on my mind.

Lmao!! Nairalanders have a good sense of humour

Will run for an elective post in 2015?