Death Penalty: Appeal Court Delivers Judgment In al-Mustapha, Shofolahan’s Case Tomorrow
The Court of Appeal, Lagos will tomorrow, Friday, deliver judgment on the appeal filed by Maj. Hamza al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha; and his co-accused, Lateef Shofolahan.
The duo of al-Mustapha and Shofolahan had appealed against the judgment of the Lagos High Court which sentenced them to death for the June 4, 1996 murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the deceased winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola.
It will be recalled that Messrs al-Mustapha and Shofolahan former Personal Assistant to Kudirat Abiola, were sentenced to death on January 30, 2012, by Justice Mojisola Dada.
The convicts were first arraigned in October 1999 on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and their involvement in the 1996 Murder of the late Kudirat, along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
Justice Dada had found them guilty of the offence, and accordingly convicted and sentenced them to death by hanging.
Counsel to the appellants had however, appealed to the court of appeal, 24-hours after the sentence of the convicts.
In the notice of appeal, the appellants contends that the death sentence handed by the lower court was unwarranted, unreasonable and a manifest miscarriage of justice.
Source: Channel