Hamza Al-Mustapha is currently the 2023 Presidential candidate of Action Alliance (AA) and a former Army Major and Intelligence Officer in Nigeria. He served as Chief Security Officer (17 Nov., 1993 to 8 Jun., 1998) to Late General Sani Abacha – a former Nigeria Military Head of State from 1993 to June 8, 1998 (when he died a sudden death).

One Kogi man then was given instruction to kill Maj. Mustapha while in Correctional Centre. According Maj. Mustapha, he was praying in the cell of the Correctional Centre that very day of execution while in chains on his hands, legs, and neck, tied down and locked up in an underground cell, in Correctional Centre. While the executioner came to him sweating, Maj. Mustapha was shocked to discover that the Correctional Centre cell iron gate door was open. He then said to the executioner, “ you mean this door was open since morning while I was praying”. He went on to tell the man that he overheard him seeking for permission to go and see his sick mother, and the permission was not granted him. The man dropped his gun and sat down beside him. The man’s assignment was to shoot him to death and make it look as if it was an accident. Maj. Mustapha added that he prayed for the man’s sick mother quick recovery. The man wonder why him (Mustapha) should care more about his mother, while the people he worked for and with did not care about his own mother. That’s was how the man refused to kill him and chose to be punished for not carrying out the assignment.

Mustapha was arrested and firstly questioned at Oputa Panel and accused of plotting four coups from Correctional Centre. He was taken to Kirikiri Maximum Security Correctional Centre and for more than 12 months underwent such torture: being in chains and solitary confinement, allowed a cup of water daily, and subjected to psychological torture like his apartment in Yobe, Kano and Abuja looted by government operatives, his children toys burnt before him to instill fear, his family threatened. He was able to see his parent twice only while in Correctional Centre before their death. There was a fake news of his death in May 2011. He was release in 2010, 21 Dec. Later, he was sentenced to death by hanging after the case of the murder of Kudirat Abiola was reopened on 30 Jan., 2012 by Lagos State Government. Luckily for him, Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the previous judgment of high Court and acquitted him. He went through 15 trials under different 14 judges and 2 magistrates. Lagos State Government didn’t give up on his case, an appeal again was filed with the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Jan. 2017. Till today, the Lagos Government was not clear on continuing with the case because his accusers are on the run. According to Mustapha the secret tape of what happen in the villa before the death of MKO Abiola which a particular camera in the villa captured, was badly sought for from him but he denied his accusers the release of the tape and that led to numerous litigations and tortures he passed through for 15 year (in which he served 5years and 2months in detention in Ikoyi Prson, Kirikiri Prison and Jos Prison).

The following were among the charges against Major Mustapha (rtd) in different law courts in Nigeria: Murder of M.K.O. Abiola and his wife in Correctional Centre (Oct. 1998), attempted murder of Alex Ibru ( publisher of The Guardian & Abacha’s Minister of Internal Affairs) in 1996, attempted murder of Isaac Porbeni (former Chief of Naval Staff) in 1996, involvement in a plot to overthrow the government of Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004, April 1st by trying to assassinate the president (intended using surface–to–air missile on the presidential helicopter which was brought into Nigeria through Benin) and his involvement in drug trafficking in which the diplomatic pouches was said to have been used for transporting the drugs.

Reference Reference
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopediat, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamza_al-Mustapha, Edited 1
December 2022
Human Right Radio. 6 December, 2022. Brekete Family TV/Radio Live Program