Kudirat Abiola’s children sue Buhari $10m for wrongful assassination 

Kudirat Abiola’s children have taken the Buhari-led administration to the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja for the wrongful assassination of their mother.

“The failure or reluctance of the Defendant to defend the life of Late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in the Republic of Nigeria amounts to a violation of Articles 1,4,5,18 and 23 of the African Charter,” Khafila Abiola, Moriam Abiola, and Hadi Abiola said in the case filed by Kudirat’s children.

Kudirat’s children also contested the “violation of the fundamental human rights to life and dignity of human person of the late Mrs. Abiola” in the complaint brought on their behalf by their attorney Femi Falana, SAN.

In addition to claiming that “under the combined provisions of Articles 1, 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Federal Republic of Nigeria is a signatory, the Respondent has violated the right of the deceased to life, dignity of her person, and security,” they also stated that “the combined effect of the said provisions of the African Charter and the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria is that states will be held responsible if there is a violation of the said rights by the Respondent.”

Part of the lawsuit read; “The applicants assert that the late Chief MKO Abiola, a Nigerian and prominent local resident, was married to the late Mrs. Kudirat Abiola. On June 12, 1993, Nigeria held presidential elections. Chief M.K.O. Abiola ran and won. The Ibrahim Babangida military regime invalidated the choice, which local and foreign election observers deemed fair and free, without providing any sort of legal basis.

“On August 27, 1993, the Ibrahim Babangida junta illegally imposed an interim National Government led by Chief Ernest Shonekan in place of handing over power to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola. The Lagos State High Court ruled that the temporary National Government was invalid on November 10, 1993.

“On November 17, General Sani Abacha declared himself the military ruler of state and overthrew the unconstitutional Interim National Government. Chief M.K.O. Abiola was detained in June 1994 after declaring himself the winner of the presidential election held on June 12, 1992 in Nigeria.

“The Sani Abacha military junta accused Chief M.K.O. Abiola of a treasonable offence and imprisoned him in solitary confinement for four years without a trial in a secret detention facility. Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, the wife of Chief Abiola, spearheaded a movement to have her husband unconditionally released from unlawful incarceration and sworn in as President of Nigeria.

The Sani Abacha military junta decided to kill Mrs. Kudirat Abiola out of resentment for her pro-campaign activities. Mrs. Kudirat Abiola was fatally shot in her car on June 4, 1996, in the Oregun neighbourhood of Lagos, Nigeria, by unidentified gunmen.

“The military administration decried Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s death and declared its intention to look into the arrest and bring charges against those responsible. However, the military administration briefly jailed and then freed several of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s political associates and family members in order to distract the public from the real murders.

“The Olusegun Obasanjo Administration established the Justice Chukwidifu Oputa Commission of Enquiry to look into the severe violations of human rights that took place during the ill-fated military administration from 1966 to 1999 after the restoration of civil rule in May 1999. The Applicants requested an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s gruesome murder by a gang of gunmen in Lagos on June 4, 1996, in a petition they presented to the Oputa Panel.

“During the Oputa panel’s meeting in Lagos on December 8, 2000, Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (also known as Sergeant Rogers), a member of the killer squad assembled by the Sani Abacha junta, confessed that from November 1993 to June 1998, on the orders of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, General Sani Abacha’s chief security officer, he shot Mrs. Kudirat Abiola to death and tried to kill the late Senators Abraham Ades

Major Al-Mustapha and his attorneys did not contest Sergeant Rogers’ testimony because they believed it to be true and chose not to cross-examine him. Attached and designated as Exhibit A is a copy of the videotape of Sergeant Rogers’ spoken testimony.

At the Lagos High Court, Major Al-Mustapha and a few other killer squad members were accused of conspiring to kill and being an accessory after the fact to the killing of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola. The Lagos High Court found the defendants guilty of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s murder and gave them death sentences at the conclusion of the trial.

However, the Court of Appeal accepted the convicts’ appeal against the Lagos High Court’s ruling, which resulted in their release on technical grounds.

“The Lagos State Government has been given permission by the Supreme Court of Nigeria to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, and the appeal that has been submitted is currently before the Supreme Court.”

The Supreme Court dismissed the indictment in Mohammed Abacha v. The State (2002) 31 WRN 1 on the grounds that the appellant was not connected to Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s death.

The Supreme Court questioned why Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (a.k.a. Rogers), Mohammed Abdul (a.k.a. Katako), and Aminu Mohammed, who actually killed Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, were not charged with murder in light of the fact that Major Al-Mustapha was properly charged with conspiracy, murder, and accessory after the fact to Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s death.

“Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the defendant has never accused Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (also known as Rogers), Mohammed Abdul (also known as Katako), or Aminu Mohammed of killing Mrs. Kudirat Abiola in a court of law,” the statement reads.

The applicants assert that Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s death at the hands of the defendant’s armed operatives was unlawful and violated her rights to life and dignity.

“Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the applicants’ father, reportedly passed away on July 7, 1998, while being held by the military. The Oputa Panel suggested that the strange circumstances surrounding Chief Abiola’s death be looked into, but the defendant has declined to do so.

“The Federal Government has conferred the national honour of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on him posthumously and established June 12 as a public holiday in Nigeria in memory of Chief Abiola’s victory in the presidential election on June 12, 1993.”

The plaintiffs are asking for several reliefs, such as;

1. A DECLARATION that Mrs. Kudirat Abiola’s right to life and the right to dignity were violated when she was killed by the defendant’s armed agents in Lagos on June 4, 1996. These rights are outlined in articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

2. A DECLARATION that the defendant has violated the rights to life and dignity of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, which are protected by articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, by failing to charge Sergeant Barnabas Jebila (also known as Rogers), Mohammed Abdul (also known as Katako), and Aminu Mohammed.

3. AN ORDER instructing the defendant to file a murder case against Aminu Mohammed, Mohammed Abdul, and Sergeant Barnabas Jebila for the barbaric assassination of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola in Lagos on June 4, 1996.

4. AN ORDER mandating that the defendant pay the applicants $10 million as restitution for Alhaja Kudirat Abiola’s wrongful death.

The court hearing for the lawsuit has not yet been scheduled.