IMPERATIVE NEED FOR THE LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT TO APPEAL THE COURT OF APPEAL JUDGEMENT ON AL MUSTAPHA & SHOFOLAHAN IN THE KUDIRAT ABIOLA MURDER CASE FOR THE SAKE OF JUSTICE

CENTRE FOR RIGHTS AND GRASSROOTS INITIATIVE (CRGI)

                                                            1a Fadeyi Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

Email: centreforrightsgi@gmail.com

                                                            Telephone: 08078012999, 07033853232

25/07/2013.

The Honourable Chairman,

House Committee on Public Petition,

Lagos State House of Assembly,

Assembly Complex,

Alausa, Ikeja.

Lagos.

Dear Sir,

PUBLIC PETITION

IMPERATIVE NEED FOR THE LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT TO APPEAL THE COURT OF APPEAL JUDGEMENT ON AL MUSTAPHA & SHOFOLAHAN IN THE KUDIRAT ABIOLA MURDER CASE FOR THE SAKE OF JUSTICE

Lagos State House of Assembly

With humility and authority of the governing board and entire members of the Centre for Rights and Grassroots Initiative (CRGI), we wish to bring to your attention and members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, the shock, embarrassment and disappointment of Lagosians in particular and Nigerians in general with the Court of Appeal judgement of Friday 9^th July 2013 which discharged and acquitted Major Hamza Al Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan of complicity in the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the acclaimed President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, late Bashorun MKO Abiola.

It is an indisputable fact that late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was murdered for being resolute in queuing behind her husband like millions of Nigerians to demand the revalidation of the peoples vote of over 14 million freely and democratically exercised on June 12 1993 but which was treasonably annulled by the military junta of Ibrahim Babangida and consolidated upon by the Sani Abacha gang.

It was in response to this murder and the agitations of Nigerians and the international community that Major Al Mustapha and his co conspirators were arraigned for which they employed every means possible to prolong the trial for about 14 years just to frustrate the judicial process and escape justice. The result as it stands today is the judgement of the Court of Appeal with which we are in complete disagreement and are demanding justice for the sake of our society.

Late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was murdered on June 4^th 1996 within the jurisdiction of Lagos state over which you have constitutional authority to legislate. As a responsible and constitutional arm of government charged with the constitutional authority to make laws for the good of the citizenry, it behooves on any responsible government, institutions and individuals to take every legitimate action towards engendering a peaceful, progressive and orderly society at all times.

Therefore, we want to use this medium to implore the Lagos State House of Assembly as the bastion of democracy to immediately pass a resolution calling on the Lagos State government to urgently obtain copies of the Appeal court judgement and reinvigorate its legal team to file an appeal against the discharge and acquittal of Al Mustapha and Shofolahan of murder charges not only to the memory of our democracy martyrs but for the sake of justice and peace.

We are equally calling on Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to immediately direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in obeisance to the constitution and his oath of office to legally collaborate with the Lagos State Government in order to ensure that justice is served the Nigerian people in this matter at the Supreme Court.