COURT DROPS TREASON CHARGES AGAINST AL-MUSTAPHA, OTHERS

Major Al-Mustapha

Charges of treason against Major Hamza Al Mustapha, Chief Security Officer of Late Military dictator, Sanni Abacha and three others have been dismissed by a Lagos High Court.

But the former Chief Security Officer, CSO remains in detention on murder charges.

Al-Mustapha had been held in custody since 1999 for a number of crimes committed between 1993 and 1998 when Abacha was in power. They include the 1996 assassination of Kudirat Abiola, wife of Moshood Abiola - Abacha's main political opponent who won 1993 elections that were annulled by the military.

He is also accused of the attempted murder of Guardian newspaper publisher Alex Ibru in the same year.

Only last week, former Nigerian Chief of Army Staff under the Late Abacha regime, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, was discharged and acquitted  of all the four-count charge of conspiracy and attempted murder of the publisher of The Guardian newspaper, Mr. Alex Ibru, and a Delta State indigene and sports administrator, Mr. Isaac Porbeni, he was charged with, by the Lagos State Government.

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Delivering judgment at the Ikeja Division of the Lagos High Court,  Justice Joseph Oyewole, held that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Bamaiyi was guilty of any of the offenses leveled against him.

”In conclusion, therefore, I resolve the sole issue for determination against the prosecution. I find the accused person not guilty of each of the four counts alleged herein against him and I hereby discharged and acquit him on each of the said four counts,” the court said.