Ex-dictator’s aide set to be hanged for murder

THE feared right-hand man of Nigeria’s former military dictator has been sentenced to death over the 1996 killing of an opposition candidate’s wife.

Judge Mojisola Dada yesterday ordered Major Hamza Al-Mustapha to be hanged over the killing of Kudirat Abiola.

Mustapha was found guilty of ordering a security agent to kill the wife of Moshood Abiola, a businessman widely believed to be the winner of an annulled 1993 presidential poll in Nigeria. Mustapha denied taking part in the 1996 machine-gun killing in Lagos, saying he was tortured into a false confession.

Mustapha served as the chief security officer to General Sani Abacha, a paranoid military ruler who stole billions from the oil-rich nation while brutally suppressing dissent.

Mr Abiola was imprisoned by the dictator at the time of his wife’s death. He died in jail a month after Gen Abacha’s death as the nation struggled towards democracy.

Judge Dada took several hours to deliver her judgment yesterday in the stifling hot Lagos courtroom. She described Mustapha as a “venomous beast”, adding: “I think it is amazing that those who are most willing to shed the blood of others are the ones always scared of death.”

The daughter of the two slain democratic activists, Hafsat Abiola, said the verdict came as a surprise after previous trials ended without convictions.

Ms Abiola said: “I feel very relieved that over 15 years after my mother was assassinated that the people who killed her have been sentenced to death.

“It is not so much you want people to believe in the death penalty, but in a country with so much abuse of power and state impunity, we need to make sure people who commit crimes have to pay for it.”