which set free of murder charges Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief
Security Officer to late Nigerian dictator, Sanni Abacha, is owed to
President Goodluck Jonathan, who was following a "spiritual"
fortune-telling that would enable him to win the 2015 election.
Controversial Lagos sect leader, Pastor TB Joshua, who has Mr.
Jonathan eating out of his hands, has been identified as the person
who told the Nigeria leader that his political fortune rests with
setting Al Mustapha free.
In addition, Mr. Joshua has also told Mr. Jonathan if he is to win in
2015, he needs to bring back to Nigeria James Ibori, the former Delta
State governor who is currently serving a 13-year jail term in the
United Kingdom.
After Mr. Joshua's spiritual "forecast" was told to Mr. Jonathan,
SaharaReporters sources say he instructed the Attorney General and
Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke to take care of thejudges
involved in the case, giving him a war chest of $2 million.
But a judge, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, a Northern Muslim, who was
earlier contacted to do the dirty job, refused to accept the bribe and
removed himself from consideration of the plan.
Another judge, Amina Augie, was then drafted to handle the
Al-Mustapha's acquittal. Ms. Augie, formerly known as Anna Graham,
who is originally from Anambra State and fourth wife of late Senator
Adamu Augie of Kebbi State, took the case and assembled some lawyers
to help with drafting the judgement.
It is also alleged that she got help from some members of the Nigerian
human rights community in drafting the judgement, which blamed the
prosecutors in Mr. Mustapha's case for doing a "shoddy" job. Among
other ridiculous arguments, Ms. Augie's claimed in the judgement that
the prosecution couldn't provide the bullet that killed Mrs. Kudirat
Abiola in 1996.
In an interview with SaharaTV yesterday, Hafsat Abiola, the daughter
of the slain Nigerian democracy heroine, told Omoyele Sowore of
SaharaTV that the Court of Appeal has yet to provide the lead
judgement read by Justice Rita Pemu in the Al-Mustapha case to the
office of the Attorney General of Lagos State.
Strangely however, Ms. Augie's concurring judgement was alreadymade
available to subscribers of an exclusive Nigerian lawyer's listserve,
"Rule of Law" Nigeria. The judgement was provided to the listserv by
the chairperson of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission, Chidi
Odinkalu, who had initially derided a Saharareporters' investigative
report, which revealed that a deal was in the works to set Al Mustapha
free of the murder charges two weeks before the judgement was hatched.
With reference to bringing Ibori home, it is unclear how Jonathan will
go about it. The National Assembly has approved a prisoner swap law
with the United Kingdom but it is yet to be seen how Iborimight
benefit from that. Between his all-but-buried war against corruption
and his deep desire to retain the presidency, there maybe no limit to
what policies he may come up with.
A source at the Presidency in Abuja told Saharareporters that Mr.
Joshua has so much control over Mr. Jonathan right now that whatever
he requests is granted without delay because the president believes
that the pastor holds the spiritual key to his electoral success in
2015.
President Jonathan and his wife, Patience have made several nocturnal
visits to the pastor since becoming president. Al Mustapha also
visited the Pastor soon after he was released from prison before
heading to Kano to meet with family and friends.
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