LAGOS — AN Ikeja High Court was yesterday told that Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to late Gen. Sani Abacha who is currently in the custody of the Federal Government was kept in an unknown destination contrary to the belief that he was being held by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the State Security Services (SSS).
This fresh disclosure was made by Mr. Olalekan Ojo, counsel to Al-Mustapha at the resumed hearing of the criminal trial of Al-Mustapha and four others over attempted murder of Mr. Alex Ibru, the Guardian publisher in 1996.
Ojo who was to open his arguments on whether the trial court should disqualify itself from proceeding with the case and the motion urging the court to disqualify Prof. Yemi Osibajo, SAN, the leading prosecutor from the matter caused a mild stir in the court when he informed Justice Joseph Oyewole that his client was neither kept in the custody of the SSS nor the DMI.
According to him when he visited both the premises of the SSS and the DMI last week in line with the ruling of the court directing the access of the lawyer to him, he was surprised when he was informed that Al-Mustapha was not kept in both places.
Ojo said: “ I wish to inform the court that pursuant to the judge’s order permitting the third accused person access to his counsel, I went to Ikoyi office of the SSS and the Director told me there was nothing he can do because the third accused was not in his custody. He advised me to proceed to the DMI, Apapa which I went on July 7, with letter requesting access, but I was told he is not in their custody.”
He added: “I do not know in whose custody he is being kept, by virtue of that I did not see my client until this morning when I only had a 30-minute discussion with him.”
Though Al-Mustapha was brought to the court by security operatives, Ojo did not however tell the court where he was kept by the securitymen. The lawyer said consequent to this, he can not continue with the proposed motions, adding that he has been served with the counter-affidavit of the state to the two motions he filed.
To this end he urged the court to grant him fresh orders directing government to permit him to meet with his client for further briefing and a short adjournment to enable him file a reply. Justice Oyewole denied the order, stating that already Al-Mustapha has urged the same court to disqualify itself from presiding over the matter.
Responding to Ojo’s position, Mr. Fola Arthur-Worrey who represented the state, submitted that there was no valid point in Ojo’s argument since all he filed were part of the court’s records. According to him, meeting Al-Mustapha to argue motion for disqualification is not known to law, while urging the court to disregard the prayers for adjournment
In his ruling, Justice Oyewole adjourned the matter challenging the jurisdiction of the court till July 15, 2004. Al-Mustapha was later driven away in an unmarked Rio bus by security operatives.
