Sources have told SaharaReporters that last week’s “judicial decision” which set free of murder charges Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to late Nigerian dictator, Sanni Abacha, is owed to President Goodluck Jonathan, who was following a “spiritual” fortune-telling that would enable him to win the 2015 election.

Controversial Lagos sect leader, Pastor TB Joshua, who has Mr. Jonathan eating out of his hands, has been identified as the person who told the Nigeria leader that his political fortune rests with setting Al Mustapha free.

In addition, Mr. Joshua has also told Mr. Jonathan if he is to win in 2015, he needs to bring back to Nigeria James Ibori, the former Delta State governor who is currently serving a 13-year jail term in the United Kingdom.

After Mr. Joshua's spiritual “forecast” was told to Mr. Jonathan, SaharaReporters sources say he instructed the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke to take care of the judges involved in the case, giving him a war chest of $2 million.

But a judge, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, a Northern Muslim, who was earlier contacted to do the dirty job, refused to accept the bribe and removed himself from consideration of the plan.

Another judge, Amina Augie, was then drafted to handle the Al-Mustapha’s acquittal. Ms. Augie, formerly known as Anna Graham, who is originally from Anambra State and fourth wife of late Senator Adamu Augie of Kebbi State, took the case and assembled some lawyers to help with drafting the judgement.

It is also alleged that she got help from some members of the Nigerian human rights community in drafting the judgement, which blamed the prosecutors in Mr. Mustapha's case for doing a “shoddy” job. Among other ridiculous arguments, Ms. Augie’s claimed in the judgement that the prosecution couldn't provide the bullet that killed Mrs. Kudirat Abiola in 1996.

In an interview with SaharaTV yesterday, Hafsat Abiola, the daughter of the slain Nigerian democracy heroine, told Omoyele Sowore of SaharaTV that the Court of Appeal has yet to provide the lead judgement read by Justice Rita Pemu in the Al-Mustapha case to the office of the Attorney General of Lagos State.

Strangely however, Ms. Augie's concurring judgement was already made available to subscribers of an exclusive Nigerian lawyer's listserve, "Rule of Law" Nigeria. The judgement was provided to the listserv by the chairperson of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, who had initially derided a Saharareporters’ investigative report, which revealed that a deal was in the works to set Al Mustapha free of the murder charges two weeks before the judgement was hatched.

With reference to bringing Ibori home, it is unclear how Jonathan will go about it. The National Assembly has approved a prisoner swap law with the United Kingdom but it is yet to be seen how Ibori might benefit from that. Between his all-but-buried war against corruption and his deep desire to retain the presidency, there may be no limit to what policies he may come up with.

A source at the Presidency in Abuja told Saharareporters that Mr. Joshua has so much control over Mr. Jonathan right now that whatever he requests is granted without delay because the president believes that the pastor holds the spiritual key to his electoral success in 2015.

President Jonathan and his wife, Patience have made several nocturnal visits to the pastor since becoming president. Al Mustapha also visited the Pastor soon after he was released from prison before heading to Kano to meet with family and friends.

israel007: TBJ would never do that without expressly hearing from God. If he did it, I MUST be God's direction. And if God has said it, that settles it
!

Austine.E:
sahara reporters and their usual tales by moonlight!!!....waiting for some gullible nairalanders to come and celebrate this nonsense hearsay.

Prosecution’s gaffe

The appellate court stated that there was a “gaping hole” in the prosecution’s case.

First, its first witness, Ore Falomo, a medical doctor, testified that the bullet extracted from Mrs. Abiola’s skull was a “special bullet” that could have come “only” from the presidency.

The victim died after a three-hour surgery to remove the bullet and after suffering a second heart attack. Mr. Falomo said that the police took away the bullet “for investigation” and never returned it.

The appellate court noted that the prosecution failed to state the whereabouts of the bullet, get a ballistician to examine the bullet or tender it as an exhibit before the court.

“The prosecution failed to produce the bullet, and there was no explanation as to why it was not available,” Mrs. Pemu said.

Again, Mr. Jabila, during his testimony gave a vivid account of how they, acting on the orders of Mr. Al-Mustapha, trailed their victim from her Ikeja home to Lagos-Ibadan expressway where they sprayed her white Mercedes Benz with bullets.

However, under cross-examination, the witness said he was in Abuja on June 4 but was asked to give such testimony as part of an agreement with the federal government and the Lagos State government. Mr. Jabila said that he was promised a job, house, and security. His wife had been on a N15, 000 monthly salary which was later increased to N20, 000.

Mr. Jabila also said that Yemi Osinbajo, the Lagos State Attorney General and the late Bola Ige, then Attorney General of the Federation, paid him repeated visits while in detention, with the latter giving him N100,000 on one occasion.

Mr. Abdul, who had admitted being Mr. Jabila’s driver when the murder was committed, said he was made the same offers by the authorities including a promise that he would not be brought to court – but they reneged on their promise.

When he recanted, Mr. Abdul said that he was in Azare, Bauchi State, on the day of the murder.

“There was no explanation for this somersault,” said Mrs. Pemu.

The prosecution’s fourth witness, Ahmed Fari, a retired Police Commissioner in charge of Budget, disappeared when it was time for his cross-examination. His absence renders his evidence and exhibits “of no relevance,” according to the appellate court.

Al-Mustapha’s sins

Mr. Al-Mustapha said that he was arrested in October, 1998 and initially accused of holding the late Mr. Abacha’s properties.

After the charge could not stick, he said he was accused of gunrunning, and then planning a coup against the then Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Finally, in 2004, Mr. Al-Mustapha said that he was accused of planning to overthrow the Olusegun Obasanjo regime. He said that he was blackmailed by people “in high places” even though he had been cleared by all the 10 panels he faced.

The appellate court said that although the prosecution’s first witness stated that it was the “fifth columnist” that killed Mrs. Abiola; he did not suggest any conspiracy involving Messrs Al-Mustapha and Sofolahan.

The court further said that there was nothing to show that the police investigated Mrs. Abiola’s murder properly.

“I wonder why PW2 (Mr. Jabila) was treated as a prosecution witness instead of charging him with murder,” Mrs. Pemu said. “In the face of all these, can it be said that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt?”

In his reaction to the judgment, Olalekan Ojo, counsel to Mr. Sofolahan, said that the judgment had “brought sanity to the criminal justice administration in this country.”

idumuose:
Bro,I agree wif Ɣ☺u intoto.But I do not agree the source is
sahara desert,sorry,sahara reporters.I don't even believe the
Ibori angle of it.The mastermind of this story is spreading this
in his bid to tarnish the image of the president.

bcomputer101: This is one of the SATANIC thread by is agents to destroy the church of God...

I don't believe this make up story...

God will continue to bless TB Joshua.

Maxymilliano: Rubbish news from a discredited source ...

So, it was T.B Joshua that cajoled the prosecuting counsel representing the Lagos State government to charge Al-Mustapha to court with unsubstantiated evidence?

Why Appeal Court freed Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan



http://premiumtimesng.com/news/140815-why-appeal-court-freed-al-mustapha-sofalahan.html?wpmp_tp=0

Gboliwe: Is this a joke or something?

m-ployer:
Shine ur eye. That source is not Sahara reporters.