Justice Mufutau Olokooba also set free a former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, James Danbaba; former Zamfara State Military Administrator, Lt.- Col. Jubrin Bala Yakubu; and former Head of the Aso Rock Anti-Riot Police, Rabo Lawal.
With this development , Danbaba and Yakubu will regain their freedom as they are expected to be released from Kirikiri Prisons, Apapa, Lagos.
But Al-Mustapha and Rabo Lawal are still standing trial before Justice Moji Dada over their alleged involvement in the murder of Kudirat Abiola, the wife of late business mogul and winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M. K. O. Abiola.
The Lagos State Government had been prosecuting Al-Mustapha, Danbaba, Yakubu and Lawal since 11 years ago over their alleged role in the attempted murder of Ibru and a former Delta State Commissioner for Sports, Mr. Isaac Porbeni.
Al-Mustapha, Danbaba, Yakubu and Lawal were arrested on October 22, 1998 just as they were first arraigned before the former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ade Alabi in 1999.
Lawyers to the accused persons, Mr. Lekan Ojo, C.K. Nmakwe and Mr. U. C. Ikegbule had, however, faulted the suit and file a ‘no case submission‘, saying that their clients had no case to answer.
But the prosecuting lawyer, Mr. Gbadebo Oshoala, informed the judge that the accused persons knew about the attempted murder of Ibru and had a case to answer.
He urged the court to discountenance the written submissions of the accused persons and rule against the accused accordingly.
In his ruling on the ‘no case submission‘, Justice Olokooba held that the evidence on the counts preferred against the accused persons were worthless, saying that there was no evidence of conspiracy as alleged on the first count.
“I hold that no prima facie case has been established against the accused person. I hereby acquit and discharge them,” he said.
In his argument, Ojo had claimed that it would be unjust if the prosecution continued to subject his clients to trial when the state could not prove that they committed the alleged offence.
He said, “There has been no legally admissible evidence against the accused persons by the prosecution. The court should consider the failure of the prosecution to call on Investigating Police Officers who took statement from the accused to testify before the court.”
Ojo prayed the court to uphold the no case submission of his clients in the matter.
Ikegbule had also claimed that where an essential element had not been proved, his client had no case to answer.
“In proving the allegation of attempted murder of Ibru, the prosecution has not been able to show that the defendant actually had the intention to kill the publisher of The Guardian newspapers,” Ikegbule said.
He urged the court to discountenance the testimony of the prosecution witnesses who had at one point or the other contradicted themselves during a cross -examination.
Ikegbule also said that, ”None of the prosecution witnesses mentioned the name of Yakubu (the third accused) in their testimonies in court, linking him with alleged attempted murder of Ibru.
”The prosecution has failed to make a prima facie case against the defendants as to conspiracy to kill Ibru and Porbeni.
”The prosecution also failed to produce the original tapes of the Special Investigation Panel that carried out investigations into the alleged crime in spite of long adjournments.”
He then urged the court to acquit and discharge his client.
Adopting his written address, Nmakwe had urged the court to acquit and discharge his client of all allegations preferred against him by the prosecution.
Nmakwe, who urged the court to consider if the prosecution had established a prima facie case against his client, argued that the court could not convict the accused on allegation of conspiracy when there was no evidence before the court to prove same.
Source:Punch
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