**FLASH!** Al-Mustapha: Appeal Court Reserves Judgement. The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, yesterday, reserved judgement in the appeal filed by a former Chief Security Officer to Late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and fellow convict, Lateef Shofolahan. Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan are challenging a death sentence passed on them by a Lagos High Court. The convicts were sentenced to death on January 30, 2012, by Justice Mojisola Dada who found them guilty of conspiracy and murder of late Kudirat Abiola, wife of a business mogul, the late Chief M.K.O Abiola. The presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Amina Adamu-Augie, had to reserve judgement following the adoption of written addresses by the lawyers to the appellants and the respondent. Lead lawyer to Al-Mustapha, Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), while presenting his address, urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgement of the trial court. In his argument, Daudu said that the trial court erred in law to have based its judgement on the testimonies of PW1 and 2, which were contradictory. He said, “The testimonies of PW1 and 2 were inconclusive and contradictory as the court drew inferences from these contradictory statements, to establish the guilt of the appellants. “I therefore urge the court to allow this appeal and quash the judgement of the lower court” Daudu submitted. Lawyer to Shofolahan, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, aligned himself with the submissions of Daudu. But in his response, lawyer to the prosecuting Lagos State Government and the state Solicitor-General, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the judgement of the lower court. Pedro argued that apart from the evidence of PW1 and 2, there were other bits of evidence which supported the counts of conspiracy and murder. He urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit. Justice Augie then reserved judgement to a date that will be communicated to parties. The convicts were arraigned in October 1999 on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and involvement in the 1996 murder of the deceased on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway. Justice Mojisola Dada had found them guilty of the offence, and accordingly convicted and sentenced them to death by hanging. But the appellants had appealed some 24 hours after the sentence challenging the judgement. - Leadership
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:17:03 +0000
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