Abuja — The presidency has directed the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to liaise with the Lagos State government to look at the legal implications of the long standing trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former chief security officer (CSO) to former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, to ensure that justice is done to both victims and the accused.

A source in the presidency told LEADERSHIP last night that the directive was based on a report recently submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan by a team of senior lawyers advising the president to ensure that justice is done to the former CSO, who has been standing trial since 1999 over the alleged killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola and attempted murder of the publisher of The Guardian, Olorogun Alex Ibru.

The report claims that the foot-dragging over the trial of Mustapha amounted to justice denied. It said the only way the government could ensure fairness and justice in the murder case was to ensure that one party did not suffer injustice.

The report further advised that there is urgent need to advise the Lagos State government, the prosecutor to discontinue the case if it does not have sufficient evidence to prosecute the matter.

"Since the presidency cannot directly ask the Lagos State government to discontinue the case, it can only advise. And the minister of justice has been advised to liaise with the Lagos State government," the source added.

A coalition of ethnic nationalities in the country recently called for an unconditional release of Major Al-Mustapha.

Speaking at a joint news conference addressed by the founder of the Oodua People's Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun; the leaders of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Shettima Yerima; the Niger-Delta Volunteers Force (NDVF), Alhaji Dokubo Asari; and the Igbo Youth Congress (IYC), Comrade Bright Ezeocha , the leaders said the prolonged detention of Al-Mustapha was an injustice.

They called on Jonathan to invoke the prerogative of mercy clause in the constitution to grant amnesty and liberty to him and those detained with him.

According to the coalition, the 12 years Mustapha has spent in detention, represent 18 years in the normal prison calendar, making him the longest serving solitary detainee in the nation's history. His useful years, they said, were being frittered away.

The leaders spoke at Fasehun's Century Hotel, Okota, Lagos, recently. Over 500 members of the ethnic militia groups were at the occasion.

Addressing reporters on behalf of the group, Fasehun condemned everything the successive governments had done in Al-Mustapha's case. He said the government's position contradicts the nation's position as a signatory to the United Nation, Commonwealth, African and West African Charters, Conventions and Resolutions on Human Rights, Torture, Detention and Imprisonment.

The injustice of Major Al-Mustapha's detention, Fasehun said, had become a source of disgrace to millions of Nigerians at home and abroad. He said the issue had become an international embarrassment and disgrace to Nigerians and the nation's judicial systems.

He added: "More embarrassing is the fact that all the witnesses that the state has pushed forward in the court of law had by and large debunked the allegations leveled against these gentlemen.

"Time has come to terminate this national disgrace and lunacy. We hereby appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to wade into this matter in the name of all that is good.

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"We pray Mr. President to invoke the prerogative of mercy clause in the constitution and grant amnesty and liberty to Major Al-Mustapha and the prisoners of conscience detained with him."

In his own remark, the NDVF leader, Alhaji Dokubo said enough was enough of Major Al-Mustapha's incarceration and called on the Federal Government to set him free.

Yerima and other speakers also urged President Jonathan to set Al-Mustapha free in the interest of justice.

Setting Al-Mustapha free, Ezeocha said, would wipe away the nation's 12 years shame and make Nigerians to begin to feel that the country had started practising genuine democracy.

Al-Mustapha was arrested in 1998, immediately after the death of General Abacha. He was under military detention until the Lagos State government instituted murder charges against him in 1999.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201009010327.html

12 calendar years?
18 prison years?
It's hi time we dispensed with d case. D man has stayd too long awaiting trial. If he is 2 b killd, let dat be done & let's close his chapter.
And if dey want to release him. . . . . . .

sometimes, i look at government as an OPERESOR

DEM THEY FEAR AL-MUSTAFARI OH!

Al-mustapha is the lion of the north.

Unleash the dragon and see who can esczape from the fiery fury!

Agibecky:

DEM THEY FEAR AL-MUSTAFARI OH!

Al-mustapha is the lion of the north.

Unleash the dragon and see who can esczape from the fiery fury!

See your mouth, please be reasonable. Are you implying it will cause unrest if this man is dealt with?

There should be no respite for a murderer , he should be executed. He who kills by the sword shall die by the sword.

@apocalypse,then they shld do it quick,the whole thing has becom boring, he committed hir attrocities in a militaryt regime,@ least in the so called democracy 'if it dosent fit then acqiut"!!!!

shikina,

He should be tried immediately and have the years he has done behind bars subtracted from his sentence.
Afterall, the lives he and sergearnt Rogers claimed and maimed were not valueless. They roamed the land like a pair of evil spirits, openly shooting at any dissenters to their useless govt.

make the guy rot in jail abeg

When you do the crime, be prepared to do the time.
Al-Mustapha was part of the Abacha killer squad and he deserves whatever fate befalls him. Many of his victims did not even have the opportunity of a trial before they were brutally murdered.

After how many years?

The Government should just let this man go, what could be done to Abacha himself if he were to be alive?

Al Mustapha is innocent,he did nothing,was only carrying out his duty on instruction from his former bose

Al Mustapha and his co-travellers frustrated every attempt to try them speedily and judiciously by bringing frivolous applications to delay the case. This is exactly what they want to happen: for people like Fredrick Faseun to join a crusade to say that they have awaited trial for too long and should therefore be freed. If he is innocent, why didnt he allow the trial to go on and judgement given one way or the other. Do people know how many judges were literally chased out of trying the case by these almighty Mustapha and his goons? The chap is proving to be bigger than the state. And it is so sad that there are many otherwise fairly respected figures filing behind him to demand a pardon. Very sad indeed!

Trust my people, now that Soboma is dead,   they will most likely use him to silence opposition in the next presidential election

What a bunch of dolts!
They say Mustapha's active years are being 'frittered away'. What of the ended lives he and his cohorts are strongly linked to?

Poor people are in jail for over 10 years on charges of stealing chickens. Let them tackle those poor people first.

Echidime:

Al Mustapha is innocent,he did nothing,was only carrying out his duty on instruction from his former bose

the one alive is gearing up to take the leadership saddle again.  If his master wasn't dead who will dare? 

I think the delay in his trial has more to do with the security implications than the facts of the case.

Its unfortunate but is he the only awaiting trial prisoner we av in our prisons We av peeps that av spent up to 15yrs and still awiting trial. Infact for some, their files cant even be found. Who is talking on behalf of these ones
Anyway, Its unfortunate but they should focus on Al-mustapha alone.

politics

i am becoming uncomfortable with these our potential rebels, have they forgotten so soon the evil al-mustapha did to this country?asari,fasheun and co should thank their star that it wasn`t in abacha`s days they formed their various movement they would have been in their graves by now.why do we have this horrible short memory as a people.

i was at the Kirikiri prison with a friend to see him and i was surprised he offered us a wine and the man was looking well dress and he doesn't look like a prisoner. he was also making deals and he is still giving out contracts to businessmen that came visiting too. Mustapaha is still connected with ppl while still in prison

Really is Al Mustapha to blame for carrying out the order of the Commander In CHief at that time?

dayokanu:

Really is Al Mustapha to blame for carrying out the order of the Commander In CHief at that time?

Who cares  ? Abeg the guy should rot in jail.

apocalypse:

There should be no respite for a murderer , he should be executed. He who kills by the sword shall die by the sword.

have you been able to prove he murdered anybody?? if not, let him go because his continued detention is illegal since he's not serving a sentence.

Kabikala:

When you do the crime, be prepared to do the time.
Al-Mustapha was part of the Abacha killer squad and he deserves whatever fate befalls him. Many of his victims did not even have the opportunity of  a trial before they were brutally murdered.

Nobody has been able to prove that he killed anybody, Lagos prosecutors have been trying to prove his guilt for over ten years and have been unable to. If thats the case, they cannot prove he killed a single soul and there are no witnesses then let him go. You have to put yourself in his shoes. They cannot prove him guilty of the crimes they charged him with and if they cant do this after 10 years then it means they have no evidence that he did those things. LET HIM GO, what if someone accused you of something but couldn't prove it yet locked you up for 12 years. Anybody can accuse anybody of a crime, i can say you're a murderer but in a civilized setting, you have to prove it. Unless you want a jungle society which is totally devoid of law and justice.

That guy is a security threat to this country, highly trained by Abacha himself, He should be executed sharp sharp

Al Mustapha is innocent,he did nothing,was only carrying out his duty on instruction from his former bose

i guess those nazi officers were innocent too, hey they only killed jews because it was the order from the higher-op.

puhlease. why didn't he resign his post or quit?

GP15:

That guy is a security threat to this country, highly trained by Abacha himself, He should be executed sharp sharp

hahahaha !!!

Al'Mustapha deserves this freedom.

We all av a c'mon responsibility for the sins of our leaders-military or democratic.

The bible book of James 4:17 says "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."

If we wanted to we should av stopped Abacha's evil deeds. We all deverve to be Prison (Awaitin Trial) with those who took part in that gov't.

Pls, GJ release Mustapha and other prisoners of conscience, who were merely doing their military work.

who cares! let him rot in jail.