Lagos State
Government has gone to the Supreme Court to appeal against the
judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which freed Maj. Hamza al-Mustapha and
Lateef Shofolahan, who were accused of killing Mrs. Kudirat Abiola.
Kudirat was the wife of the acclaimed
winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola.
The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for
Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, at a briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, said there were
“good grounds of appeal” in the case.
Ipaye said his ministry filed two separate
notices of appeal against the judgment on Monday.
Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to
the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, and Shofolahan, a Personal Assistant
to Kudirat, were on January 30, 2012, sentenced to death by hanging by Justice
Mojisola Dada of a Lagos High Court.
The Justice Amina Augie-led appellate court on
July 12, 2013, however, set aside the judgment of the lower court.
Ipaye, who refused to give details of the
appeal, said the apex court would provide the final resolution of the case.
He said, “I can report that we have indeed
appealed the judgments, one in respect of al-Mustapha and the other in respect
of Lateef Shofolahan.
“Both have been studied closely and we came
to the conclusion that there were good grounds for appeal and we have since
filed all the necessary papers.
“We did that on Monday. Officially, we have
put in our indication that we want to contest the judgment of the Court of
Appeal at the Supreme Court.
“This step will also ensure that all issues are
fully articulated and the victim’s family, the defendants and the society are
not deprived of the last window of opportunity provided by the constitution for
the resolution of the case.”
Ipaye also denied that the state government
forced residents of the Badia East out of their homes in breach of the persons’
rights and international standards.
The Attorney-General was reacting to a report on
Monday by a rights group, Amnesty International, and a non-governmental
organisation, Social and Economic Action Centre.
In the 66-page report entitled, ‘If you love your
life, move out! Forced eviction in Badia East, Lagos State, Nigeria’ the groups
called on Governor Babatunde Fashola to “publicly commit to stopping forced
evictions in Lagos.”
The group also urged the state government to
resettle the evicted residents and pay them adequate compensation for their
destroyed properties.
Ipaye, who said the victims would be compensated
“on humanitarian ground”, added that adequate notice was given to them to
vacate the place, which he said they occupied “illegally.”
He said, “Despite contrary suggestions in the
report, I want to reiterate the Lagos State Government’s commitment to the
welfare of its residents and the protection of their rights. We have the
largest rights protection programme of any government in Nigeria and are
committed maintaining its effectiveness.”
Tweet Follow @punshcomempower
50% off Hosting for your Website at GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
Host a site without stress on namecheap eApps|YOUR APP HOSTING PROVIDER
Submit your Website
Free webmaster resources including SEO Tools, Computer Glossary, Templates Sign up to BIGTIMEBUX today!
0 comments:
Post a Comment