Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan swell rank of death row inmates

 

Major Hamza al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan, who were sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of Kudirat Abiola, have been moved to the Death-Row-Inmate wing of the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos.


It was learnt that the duo swelled the number of the inmates in the wing from 11 to 13.

A Lagos High Court had on January 30, said it was evident that al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, and Shofolahan, conspired with others to kill Kudirat.

Kudirat, wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, was gunned down on a street of Lagos on June 4, 1996.

Sources told our correspondents on Wednesday that the convicts were taken straight to the cells meant for the condemned inmates after the judgment.

It was learnt that the prisons authorities did not conduct any medical examination on the inmates before their relocation from awaiting trial cell to death row, unlike the usual practice.

The source however said, “It is not unusual. The inmates have been with us for years as awaiting trial inmates; we have their medical records, so it was not necessary that we conduct another examination on them.”

The source added that the prisons authorities had no cause to worry over the state of mind of the two men because they had been psyched for any eventuality before their sentence.

The Public Relations Officer, Lagos Command of the Nigerian Prison Service, Mr. Chris Njoku, confirmed to our correspondent that the two convicts were now in the death row wing.

Speaking on the convicts’ attitude to their new status within the prison, Njoku said al-Mustapha had remained a loyal and obedient inmate.

Njoku said, “Where a condemned inmate is moved to is completely an internal issue depending on the facilities available in the prison. You also know that he is on appeal. Anyway, for al-Mustapha and Shofolahan, the management of the prison has taken the appropriate step. They have been moved to where they are supposed to be, which is the death row wing.

“I can tell you that we have not been having any problem with them due to the change of their cells. They have accepted their new status. Al-Mustapha has been a very very loyal and obedient inmate since he came to the prison.

“I read in the newspaper last week that he gave us N2.5m. I don’t know where journalists got that kind of information because it is a lie. Al-Mustapha does not give any prison official any money. But I can tell you he has been a loyal and obedient inmate.”
Culled from Punch