Hundreds of youth under the aegis of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), on Monday, staged a protest at the Ministry of Justice, Abuja, calling for the release of Hamza Al-Mustapha, former chief security officer to the late head of state, Sani Abacha, and three others.

The others are former Lagos commissioner of police, James Danbaba, former Zamfara State military administrator, Jubrin Bala Yakubu, and former chief superintendent of police, Mohammed Rabo Lawal. The youth carried various placards with pictures of Mr Al-Mustapha, with various inscriptions calling for their immediate release.

Some placards read: ‘President Goodluck Jonathan, free Al-Mustapha and others for democracy’, ‘The youths want Al-Mustapha released’, ‘Justice delayed amounts to justice denied’, among others.

Let justice reign

However, another human rights group, Education Right Campaign, called on Goodluck Jonathan to ignore the calls for the release of the four who are currently standing trial in a Lagos court.

According to Taiwo Soweto and Chinedu Bosah, Mr Al-Mustapha and the others committed various nefarious activities under the late Abacha, and must face justice rather than be released.

But the leader of the AYCF, Shettima Yerima, said that keeping Mr Al-Mustapha and others behind bars contradicted Nigeria’s position as a signatory to UN and Commonwealth Conventions and Resolutions on Human Rights, Torture, Detention and Imprisonment.

According to him, all the witnesses that the state has pushed forward in the court have, by and large, debunked the allegations levelled against these gentlemen.

Neither the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, nor any official from the ministry, addressed the protesting youth, while the two gates to the ministry were locked, thereby preventing people from going in or coming out of the building.

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Al-mustapha is a forgotten issue.the sooner,the better these useless protesters get that in their heads.mad people