Lagos goes to S’ Court over Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan

The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal had on July 12 overruled the death sentence handed to Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan on January 30, 2012, by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos High Court in Igbosere.Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, […]

The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal had on July 12 overruled the death sentence handed to Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Alhaji Lateef Shofolahan on January 30, 2012, by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos High Court in Igbosere.
Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and Shofolahan, a former Personal Assistant to late Kudirat, were both convicted by the lower court for the conspiracy and murder preferred against them by Lagos State.
But in a press conference yesterday, the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye said the state government has formally filed appeal at the Supreme Court the previous against the two judgments delivered by the Appeal Court.
“The Lagos State Ministry of Justice has filed appeal papers against the judgments delivered by the Court of Appeal in the cases of Lateef Shofolahan vs The State and Al-Mustapha vs State after carefully studied the two judgments delivered by the Appeal Court very closely and concluded that there were grounds for appeal, which made the government to formally file the appeal at the apex court on Monday”, he said.
He said, “Having fully reviewed the decisions of the respected Justices of the Court of Appeal, it is our humble view there are strong bases for appeal which the Supreme Court of Nigeria should have an opportunity to consider.”
He explained that the step government has taken would also ensure that all issues were fully articulated and that the victim’s family, the defendants and the society were not deprived of the last window of opportunity provided by the constitution for the resolution of the case.
Ipaye added that government was committed to ensuring that law abiding residents and visitors continued to live, work and pursue their various aspirations in a safe and secured environment.