Al-Mustapha’s family raises alarm our son’s life in danger following his testimony on June 12, Abiola, S’West leaders

Al-Mustapha

The family of Major Hamza al- Mustapha has raised the alarm over the security of their son following the outburst of anger from prominent Yoruba leaders concerning the revelations of the detained former Chief Security Officer (CSO) before a Lagos High Court last week.

The former CSO to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, had last week indicted South-West leaders, mainly former Justice Minister, the late Chief Bola Ige and Afenifere leader, the late Chief Abraham Adesanya of working against the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, and the validation of his mandate.

But speaking to the Press in his house in Kano , Sunday, the family’s spokesman, Alhaji Hadi al-Mustapha appealed to the Federal Government to ensure a round-the- clock security for Hamza, noting that they have reasons to believe that his life may be in danger.

Alhaji Hadi said the family had been inundated with threats from unidentified callers who were not comfortable with his evidence, even as he expressed concern that before the present episode, there had been disturbing rumours about the state of al-Mustapha in detention. “We received messages in the past that he will be killed. We received messages at one point that he had been killed. But at the end of the day, fortunately, we found out that he didn’t die,” he recalled.

Alhaji Hadi said that all these ominous signals are indeed worrisome, adding that based on these factors, the family is calling on the Federal Government to urgently increase the security around their son. He said that he will not join issues with some Yoruba leaders, who, he noted, are trying to repudiate the evidence made by Hamza or to question the creditability of the account. According to him, the matter is before a court.“ What I will say is that the case is still ongoing and the case is still in court. I will advise that you go to the court and follow up the case and see it for yourself, ” he stressed.

Alhaji Hadi believed that, “ there is no reason for keeping Hamza in detention all these years.” “There is nothing like prosecution. It is pure persecuted. And we have so many reasons to believe that he is being prosecuted. In fact, all Nigerians following this case know that it is persecution.” The former CSO had been detained since 1999. He recalled that it was public knowledge that Sergeant Rogers and other prosecution witnesses once came to court to testify that they were induced and compelled to implicate al- Mustapha in the case.

Alhaji Hadi had argued that since the same witnesses that implicated the accused had openly disclosed that they were under duress, it behoves on those holding al-Mustapha to release him thereafter. Apart from this, Alhaji Hadi maintained that it is curious that all the suspects that were arrested alongside Major al-Mustapha in connection with the 1996 murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, have been released, except him.

It would be recalled that al-Mustapha last week came up with stunning revelations of how some Yoruba leaders were used to scuttle the mandate of the late Chief Abiola. The former CSO who is standing trial in a Lagos High Court had accused the two Afenifere chieftains, the late Adesanya and Ige of alleged monetary inducement running into millions of naira by the regime of Gen. Abubakar Abdusalami to co-ordinate aggrieved Yoruba leaders on how to jettison Abiola and his mandate.

Meanwhile, al-Mustapha had backed his claims with video evidence and a letter he wrote to the late Ige, alerting him of how he was purportedly used by the then regime of Gen. Abdusalami.

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