Lekan Abiola disappointed over court judgment, says “I can’t sacrifice even my fingernails for this country”.

Lekan Abiola, first child of the late Kudirat Abiola, has expressed disappointment over the Appeal Court judgment, which, on Friday, upturned the death sentence earlier passed on Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late Gen. Sani Abacha,  and Lateef Shofolahan, an ex-aide to the late Kudirat, who were accused of masterminding the killing of his mother.

Lekan told Saturday PUNCH on Friday that he was “disappointed, but not particularly surprised
by the judgement which just reopened the wound”.

He said, “The Appeal Court only completed the work of other courts before it that have played roles in scuttling the family’s quest for justice in this matter. “They finished the job, but they weren’t the ones who started it”.

“We had seven or so defendants before now with confessions of the roles they played in the death of my mother; there was Mohammed Abacha, Banabas Jabila aka Sgt. Rogers, James Danbaba, Lateef Shofolahan, Rabo Lawal and others. Everybody said the role they played; the one who did the shooting; the one who drove; the one who arranged for the car that was used when they got to Lagos from Abuja; the people in the room when the order to kill my mother was given. All the seven started the case, but the Supreme Court started the whole thing when it said that Mohammed Abacha had no case to answer.”

According to him, the Abiola family would still have been disappointed even if the death sentence had been upheld by the Appeal Court.

He said, “One after the other, the cases were dropped and it was down to the remaining two. Where are the others? The fact that only two of them were convicted shows the rot in the judicial system. Even if the court had upheld the death sentence, we still wouldn’t have got the justice we sought. Already, most of those involved had been freed.”

“Our justice system is a joke; imagine having people charged after about 12 years that my mother was killed. It takes that long to conclude a murder trial and the singular achievement, at the first test, it was overturned. That’s why Al-Mustapha was always smiling in court because he knew that nothing would happen to him”.

Lekan also expressed concern about the general situation in the country, saying, 

“Only God knows how many Nigerian family members have been killed by the police or the army and could not get justice. If something like that can happen to my family, what about other families that people don’t know anything about? We know we have serious issues in this country and may God help us to put things right. I regret that my parents had to sacrifice their lives for this country. I can’t sacrifice anything for this country; even my fingernails. Nigeria is not worth anybody’s blood. I know that my mum and dad will definitely get justice; maybe not in Nigeria, but I’m sure that Allah will give them justice where they are. Allah will give them justice, forgiveness and paradise”.

He, however, said that some credits should go the “high court judge that passed the initial (death) sentence on Al-Mustapha and Shofolahan." adding that  the Abiola family had accepted the judgment in good fate as Muslims.