Politics
Abiola’s Children Sue FG Over Kudirat’s Murder
The children of the late Mrs Kudirat Abiola have filed a suit against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
They dragged the administration to the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Abuja over the unlawful killing of their mother, Late Mrs Abiola.
The suit ECW/CCJ/APP/62/2022 filed on Tuesday by Femi Falana SAN on their behalf read, “The applicants aver that Late Mrs. Kudirat Abiola was married to the late Chief M.K.O Abiola, a Nigerian and community citizen. Chief M.K.O. Abiola contested and won the presidential election held in Nigeria on June 12, 1993. The selection which was adjudged fair and free by local (and international election observers) was annulled by the Ibrahim Babangida military junta without any legal justification.
“Instead of relinquishing power to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the Ibrahim Babangida junta illegally installed an Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan on August 27, 1993. On November 10, 1993, the Lagos State High Court declared the interim national government illegal, null and void.
“On November 17, General Sani Abacha removed the illegal interim national government and declared himself the military head of state. In June 1994, Chief M.K.O. Abiola was arrested for announcing himself as the elected president of Nigeria on the basis of the June 12, 1992 presidential election won by him.
“The Sani Abacha military junta charged Chief M.K.O. Abiola with treasonable felony and detained him in solitary confinement in an undisclosed detention centre for four years without trial. Chief Abiola’s wife, Mrs. Kudirat Abiola led a campaign for the unconditional release of her husband from illegal custody and inauguration as the elected President of Nigeria.
“Angered by her pro-campaign campaign, the Sani Abacha military junta decided to assassinate Mrs. Kudirat Abiola. On June 4, 1996, Mrs Kudirat Abiola was shot dead in her car at Oregun area in Lagos, Nigeria by unknown gunmen.
“The military government condemned the assassination of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola and announced its plan to investigate the arrest and prosecute the murderers. But in order to divert public attention from the actual murderers the military regime arrested some political allies and family members of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, detained them briefly and released them”.
“Following the restoration of civil rule in May 1999, the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration set up the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Commission of Enquiry to investigate the gross human rights abuse that occurred during the defunct military rule from 1966-1999. In a petition submitted to the Oputa Panel the Applicants requested for investigation of the circumstances surrounding the brutal killing of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola by a gang of gunmen in Lagos on June 4, 1996.
“During the sitting of the Oputa panel in Lagos on December 8, 2000 Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (a.k.a. Sergeant Rogers), a member of the killer squad set up by the Sani Abacha junta confessed that he shot Mrs. Kudirat Abiola dead and attempted to kill the late Senator Abraham Adesanya and Alex Ibru by shooting them on the instructions of the Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the chief security officer of General Sani Abacha, from November 1993 to June 1998.
“The evidence of Sergeant Rogers was not challenged by Major Al-Mustapha and his lawyers as they did not cross examine the witness because of the veracity of his evidence. A copy of the videotape of the oral testimony of Sergeant Rogers is hereby attached and marked Exhibit A.
“Major Al-Mustapha and some members of the killer squad were charged with conspiracy to murder and accessory after the fact to murder Mrs. Kudirat Abiola at the Lagos High Court. At the end of the trial, the defendants were convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola by the Lagos High Court.
“But the appeal filed by the convicts against the judgment of the Lagos High Court was allowed by the Court of Appeal which freed them on technical grounds.”
“The Supreme Court of Nigeria has granted leave to the Lagos State Government to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the appeal which has been filed is currently pending at the Supreme Court.
“In Mohammed Abacha the State (2002) 31 WRN 1, the Supreme Court quashed the charge on the grounds that the appellant was not implicated in the murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola.”
“The apex court said that Major Al-Mustapha was properly charged with conspiracy, murder and accessory after the fact to murder Mrs. Kudirat Abiola but queried 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 spite of the finding of the Supreme Court the defendant has not charged Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (a.k.a Rogers), Mohammed Abdul (a.k.a Katako) and Aminu Mohammed with the murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola in any court of law.
“The applicants aver that the killing of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola by the armed agents of the defendant is illegal and a violation of her human rights to life and dignity.”
“The father of the Applicants, Chief M.K.O. Abiola was reported to have died in military custody on July 7, 1998. The Oputa Panel recommended that the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Chief Abiola be investigated but the defendant has refused to implement the recommendation.”
“In recognition of the presidential election won by Chief Abiola on June 12, 1993, the Federal Government has conferred the national honour of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on him posthumously and declared June 12 as a public holiday in Nigeria”
Furthermore, they are arguing that, “the failure or refusal of the defendant to protect 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 of Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”