WHICH WAY NIGERIA ? Appeal Court sets Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan free : After13 years of rigorous trial, former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan, a former aide to the late business mogul and winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M. K. O. Abiola, now have reason to smile as the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos yesterday discharged and acquitted the duo over the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in 1996. The Court in a unanimous decision ruled that there was no direct circumstantial evidence that the duo conspired with anyone as statements of prosecution witnesses in that regard were contradictory. The trial of Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan commenced in October, 1999 before a Lagos State Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ikeja, presided over by Magistrate Gbogodo. They were later re-arraigned before former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Christopher Segun in 2000 while the judge later withdrew from the case due to allegation of bias raised against him by the counsel of Al-Mustapha, Joseph Dawodu then. Again, the matter was reassigned to Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun now of Supreme Court, after the elevation of Justice Kekere-Ekun to the Court of Apppeal, it was re-assigned to another judge before it got to the court of Justice Mojisola Dada who finally found them guilty of the offence, and accordingly convicted and sentenced them to death by hanging on January 30, 2012. At the Court of Appeal yesterday, Justice Rita Pemu who read the lead judgment held that there was no direct circumstantial evidence that Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan conspired with anyone as claims of prosecution witnesses in that regard were contradictory and that the prosecution in totality failed to establish the charge of conspiracy and murder against the appellants. She further held that based on facts and evidence before the court, it is certainly neither Al-Mustapha nor Shofolahan who pulled the trigger and murdered Alhaja Abiola. Justice Amina Augie who is the presiding Judge also concurred with the lead judgement as read by Justice Rita Pemu, while the third Judge on the panel, Justice Fatima Akinbami also totally agreed with the lead judgement meaning that the ruling was unanimous. “In a criminal trial the burden of proof is to proof beyond reasonable doubt and this is a chain that cannot be broken. “The prosecution listed four witnesses PW 9, 10, 11 and 12 as witnesses which it intended to call in the trial, but never called any of them.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 08:17:13 +0000
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