Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello, daughter of
the deceased Alh. Kudirat Abiola, has responded to the death sentence
ruling handed down to Major Hamza Al-Mustapha who was accused of
ordering her death.
She described the sentence as a judgement for Nigerians and said it was long overdue.
Al-Mustapha, as well as Lateef Sofolahan were sentenced to death by
hanging having been convicted of the murder of Mrs. Abiola, wife of
Chief Moshood Abiola, widely believed to have won the 12 June 1993
Presidential elections.
She’d been assassinated along the Lagos/Ibadan express way on 4 June 1996.
Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of
State, General Sani Abacha, as well Lateef Sofolahan, the protocol
officer for the deceased who was accused of divulging details of Mrs.
Abiola’s whereabouts on the day of her murder, have both been embroiled
in a 12-year-long trial.
It came to an end today when Justice Mojisola Dada in a Lagos High Court today sentenced both men to death.
Hafsat Abiola says the judgement has further confirmed the judiciary in the country as the last hope of the Nigerian masses.
Speaking to Channels Television in Abeokuta, she said there had been “no
doubt” of Al-Mustapha’s involvment in her mother’s killing, adding that
it brings some closure to the family still greiving the loss.
Mrs. Costello says that life without the late Kudirat Abiola has been
difficult, but adds that the family finds solace in the fact that she
died in the struggle for the emancipation of the people.
In the interview, Hafsat Abiola admits that the trial had taken far too
long and the 12-year-long case is said to be the longest in the nation’s
history.
Source: Channels TV
