The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, disclosed this yesterday during his ministry’s monthly media briefing on Law and Order in the state.
He said that the decision to appeal the judgments was taken because there were substantial grounds for it.
Ipaye, however, refused to disclose the grounds of the appeal filed in the apex court but a reliable source at the Court of Appeal told our correspondent that the Lagos State government filed an application seeking to quash the judgements of the Court of Appeal because the learned justices erred in law by setting free Al-Mustapha and Sofolahan, and also restore the verdict of the high court.
Two prominent lawyers Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) and Mr. Seyi Sowemimo (SAN) – have hailed the decision of the state government. Both senior advocates described the step as a right decision in the quest to get justice for the victims of crime, the accused and the society.
Sagay said: “Lagos State is absolutely right because people were killed with impunity.
Kudirat was killed, Ibru was shot in the eye and he never fully recovered, Senator Abraham Adesanya was almost killed; Alfred Rewane was also murdered.
“Was it a ghost that was killing these people? Who was the mastermind? Who was the weapon in the Abacha government that was being used in this elimination of our spoken voices? That is the question we are asking.
“Nigerians may be pretending today and making hero out of him (Al-Mustapha), but that doesn’t mean that wool had been pulled over our eyes.
“So, I commend the Lagos State Government for taking the matter up to the Supreme Court so that at least, we can say that the Lagos State government has done its very best to bring peace to the spirit of Kudirat and to all those who died and bring justice to Nigeria, to those who died, and not only justice for those who are being tried. What Lagos State is doing is the right thing because somebody killed all those innocent freedom fighters.
Sowemimo agreed that “it is in order for the Lagos State to appeal against the judgement. It is such an important case in which members of the public have interest and it would not be right to allow it to die down without going the whole hog in order to ensure that those behind the crime are brought to justice.’’
According to Ipaye, “Having carefully reviewed the decisions of the respected justices of the Court of Appeal, it is our humble view there are strong basis for appeal which the Supreme Court of Nigeria should have an opportunity to consider.
“This step will also ensure that all issues are fully articulated and the victim’s family, the defendants and the society are not deprived of the last window of opportunity provided by the constitution for the resolution of the case.”.
This decision is coming exactly one month after the appellate court verdicts that enabled Al- Mustapha and Sofolahan, an aide to Abiola’s family, to regain their freedom following death sentences passed on them by a Lagos High Court on January 30, 2012, for conspiracy and the murder of Kudirat Abiola.
Al-Mustapha and Sofolahan, who were convicted by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos High Court had last month been released from the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, Lagos, by the Appeal Court. Both men had filed separate notices of appeal against the judgement of the Lagos High Court.
In its verdict, however, the appellate court declared that the lower court erred in law in passing death sentences on Al-Mustapha and Sofolahan. Justice Rita Pemu, who read the lead judgement, said that the prosecution totally failed to establish the charge of conspiracy and murder against them.
Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer, CSO, to the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, was sentenced to death on January 30, over the alleged murder of Kudirat on June 4, 1996 in Lagos.
Kudirat was the wife of the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O. Abiola. Shortly after Al-Mustapha and Sofolahan secured their freedom, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN) had declared that Al-Mustapha had succeeded to escape from justice and not that he got justice.
He had also likened the Appeal Court as a judgement without justice.
He had said: “Although Al-Mustapha was discharged and acquitted but the event that lead to his acquittal showed very clearly that the trial passed through about two to three judges at the High Court.
“It was not because those judges did not want sit on the matter; it was due to manipulations of the defence. “On each occasion, you will discover that Al- Mustapha alleged that the judge has been bribed and so on.
A panel of enquiry was set to investigate the allegation. All in an attempt by the defence just to delay the trial up to point that the witnesses will longer be available, the evidence could be destroyed and so on. These are all the things that affected the trial.’’
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