Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Thursday, January 22, 2026, brought to an end the long-running murder case of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola after striking out the appeal filed by the Lagos State Government.
In its decision, the apex court upheld the earlier discharge of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd.), former Chief Security Officer to late military ruler General Sani Abacha, who had been accused alongside Mohammed Abacha and Lateef Shofolahan of orchestrating the killing.
Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola widely believed to have won the annulled 1993 presidential election was assassinated in Lagos on June 4, 1996, amid nationwide unrest following the cancellation of the historic June 12 poll.
The accused were arraigned before the Lagos State High Court on charges of conspiracy and murder. In January 2012, Justice Mojisola Dada sentenced them to death by hanging after finding them guilty. However, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction in July 2013, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
Unhappy with the outcome, the Lagos State Government approached the Supreme Court, seeking to reinstate the original judgment. Although the court granted the state permission in 2014 to reopen the appeal despite missing the deadline, proceedings stalled.
At hearings held this week, the Supreme Court noted that Lagos State had neither filed additional court processes nor appeared through legal representation since receiving approval to revive the case.
A five-member panel of justices led by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji consequently struck out the appeal, effectively closing one of Nigeria’s most high-profile criminal cases linked to the military era.
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