How prosecution’s case against Al-Mustapha failed

On the PASS, it contains the name of the officer, or the non- commission officer who is authorized to go on pass, his initials, rank, his service number, purpose for which the pass is issued, jurisdiction for the pass, location that the pass is intended, the nearest military formation to that location that the person […]

On the PASS, it contains the name of the officer, or the non- commission officer who is authorized to go on pass, his initials, rank, his service number, purpose for which the pass is issued, jurisdiction for the pass, location that the pass is intended, the nearest military formation to that location that the person is authorized to go to and the nearest police military formation, it also bears the signature and name of the authorizing officer, that is the commanding officer and the stamp of the unit.

It bears a note underneath that says if in the likely event of any is the C.S.O. who has a secretariat headed by a S.S.S officer called the 5LO (i.e Security Liaising Officer). There is also an administrative officer from services in the country. Then there is the office of the 2nd in command, who is from the Army Military Intelligence with his own staff. The department had four different branches, first was Intelligence Wing,
The strike force came to being in 1995. The National Security and Joint Intelligence Bureau came up with the idea of a small force that was to protect the seat of government, and it is comprised of 75 serving personnel from all agencies in the country.
He had unfettered access to PRS, Council of State, the Executive Council by virtue of his schedule of duties.
The judgment continues with the story of how the Strike Force  was formed and what its duties were.
HE knows PW2, Barnabas Jabila a.k.a. Sergeant Rogers. PW2 was serving in Jaji infanty centre and school, worked with the former head of state, Brigadier General Abdulsalami Abubakar closely, and this informed his nomination, that brought him to be a member of strike force into the Presidency.
PW2 was Brigadier General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s personal confidential person outside routine military duty, that is to say regarding his personal life, he was into issues that had to do with the spiritual state of Brigadier General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
That when PW2 testified that the Appellant called him on radio and that Rabo Lawal led him to his office where he gave him instructions to kill the deceased, (a statement which he later retracted), this cannot be true because Rabo Lawal was at the material time in Libya as he was nominated for a course, cleared by the presidency office’s National Security Adviser, signed and endorsed by the Police Office of the Inspector General of Police.
It was not possible that Rabo Lawal was in Libya and at the Villa at the same time. Again, the walkie-talkie used by the police and that used by the strike force are different. A general radio call cannot fetch everybody. Again if Rabo Lawal were to be in Nigeria, he would have been commanding his own wing.
He was a commander of presidential escort mobile police and if there is anybody to bring him to him, it could have been for those in the headquarters or could have been any of the following that were there with him namely his two IC- it could be the administrative officer, security liasing officer or the duty officer of the day. Any of these people could have brought PW2 to him and not Rabo Lawal who was then in Libya.
That PW2 could not have been called that very day the deceased was shot in the morning, and that same day liaise with Lateef  Shofolahan, and that same morning do surveillance and that same morning they shot her, as stated in PW2’s statement. This could not have been possible from Libya to Lagos and all these actions in the morning.
The Appellant testifies that it is not possible for him to have given PW2 a rifle or any other weapon for that matter to kill the deceased with, and this is because everyone of them is issued his own rifle, in his name; make number, brought number and under the care and supervision and routine counting. It is called arms condition return. Every month, the state of arms in the presidency is accounted for. He testified that where one is missing, the President must note it and search at the routines. Where a bullet is missing, the entire department must account for an Army, Navy or Air Force( through brigade of guards) and the supervising entire department until it is found.
That he could not have handed over his rifle to a relatively new person that came to the department in 1995. That he could not have given PW2 arms without a note handing and taking over and it is not possible to take arms from Abuja to Lagos without documenting it in a pass.
He denied telling PW2 that the deceased must be eliminated. Neither did he make a statement like “There are enemies of the country, they must be eliminated.” That this statement is not even contained in PW2’s statement.
That after the murder of General Abacha, when he went through handling and taking over processes with General Abdulsalami Abubakar, he was told by General Abdulsalami Abubakar to assist him in preparing the presidency for his occupation. Before then, he was staying in the Barrack next to Brigade of Guards. It was in the cause of doing this that he was separated from late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, leading into numerous activity that led to his murder at Aguda House.
That the tape at the scene of where he was murdered is still a major issue between General Abdulsalami Abubakar and himself. This informed the fact that as soon as he was arrested on the 21st of October 1998, the first thing they did was to ransack and pack all he had and that is why he urged his counsel to beg court to force them to bring the items they took away from him in order to help him present his case in court.
That a day after the murder of Late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, something happened between Abuja and South West leader, between the seat of Government, Presidency and Central Bank  which he has documentary evidence and tape. Money was given in large sum in his presence. He recorded what happened. A day after the murder of Chief M.K.O. Abiola, which was extremely hot day, the sum of Two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) was withdrawn in cash, seventy-five million pounds (£75,000,000) and five hundred million naira (N500,000,000). That is how the matter was initially doused and that was the first withdrawal from Central Bank and pictures were printed to South West particularly against him.
That was why, after the incident, Genera Abdulsalami Abubakar and himself sat at the same Aguda House where later Chief M.K.O. Abiola was murdered. General Abdulsalami Abubakar posted him to Enugu and while he was rounding up the handing over with him, he declared him absent with leave from Enugu having sent him to Pakistan.
He testified that he had known late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as far back as when he was in the army headquarters in 1985. They were very close in the sense that Chief M.K.O. Abiola used to call him whenever he has any engagement with any of the services army, navy, air force or ministry of defence, to facilitate his coming in and out of the place. Even after the annulment of June 12 election, when he used to consult General Abacha as a personal friend in trying to claim the mandate while Chief Ernest Shonekan was President, and General Abacha was Minister of Defence he was the one assisting him to come in.
In all, he testified that he became a victim of the political class right from the death of General Abacha. As somebody who should be done away with for many reasons. When he changed places for Late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, due to threat to his life, this did not go down well with some people, highly respected people in the society.
 He was invited to be a witness against the Federal Government when the family of Chief M.K.O Abiola filed a suit against the Federal Government for damages. He refused and that did not go down well. Two years after in 2004, 1st of March he was alleged to be staging a coup against President Obasanjo. A script after four years of torture, he was exonerated and apologized to.
 Conspiracy and murder
 That he became an enemy to some who wanted Abacha removed.
 The SIP did not allow him to date his statements, but shortly before he was brought, he was made to date the first on the 20th, to make it dated on the 23rd of September 1999, then the one they call visa is the one of the 13th of October 1999. He never made any statement voluntarily. Exhibit A3 was not made voluntarily, but he stated facts therein. Anytime he made a statement, he is tortured.
 Rabo LawaI was not in the country when this incident happened.
 DW2 – Kyari Jieaid Gadzama – a retired military officer. Joined the Nigerian army in June 1993. He is orderly to the Appellant. He testified that strike force is a special force training. He undertook a course in it from late 1994 to 1995. He was appointed as orderly to the Appellant in 1994. He prepares the Appellant’s visitors list and takes his calls. He also reminds him of his calls. Ones names must be on the visitors list before he can see CSO for that day. If your name is not there, you will be denied access: ’’At the end of each day, he hands over the daily visitors list to the P.A, for further references.
 On the 4th of June 1996, he was in the Presidential villa Aso Rock in morning. He knows PW2. On that day PW2 and himself were together when they came for arms at the armoires at the headquarters in Aguda Home in the villa. He saw PW2 at about 10 to 11 in the morning on that day. One Garuba Alamu was with them on that day. He knows Kayode Are as Director General SSS during the regime of Olusegun Obasanjo.
 That the procedure for the issuance of ammunitions in the military and the security department is that you go to armoury and sign in and at the end of your duty, you sign out. There are no exceptions.
 That there are no transfers of arms to anybody because they are recorded in your name and are numbered. It has to be through the armoury.
 He was brought before Agbaje panel and another panel where he saw PW2 who told him to do anything he is told to do. Later on he was given a statement of PW2 and was told to go through it. He went through the statement and could not understand it. He was kicked till he fell and became unconscious. He was told to write down that all PW2 wrote down was true. He refused. But they said he must know. They insisted he must write something.
 He wrote something, but they tore it and began to dictate to him to write that he was given arms, that PW2 gave him arms to give back to Appellant but he refused because such a thing did not happen. He was arrested three times.
 Regular meetings
 He testified that to his knowledge, PW2 had never visited the Appellant in his office except when he comes for CSO regular meetings which takes place at the parade ground.
 Nobody comes to the Appellant’s office except on appointment.
 At the close of proceedings, the learned trial judge found the Appellant guilty of conspiracy to murder and murder and was sentenced death vide Judgment delivered on the 30th of January 2012 by Hon. Justice M.A. dada (Mrs) of the High Court of Lagos State
To be concluded