Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

By

Baba Ahmad

babaahmad36@yahoo.co.uk

 

”No Man will hinder thee from living according to the reason of thy own nature; nothing will happen to thee contrary to reason of universal nature”.

 Your Excellency, sequel to my earlier appeal (Have Mercy On Them, Mr. President) to Former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the release of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the erstwhile Chief Security Officer of the late Head of State General Sani Abacha and published in the Daily Trust Newspaper of 22nd May, 2003 (Page7), I find it extremely necessary to renew that plea due to some mind boggling scenarios that happened and still happening in Nigerian Judicial System and the polity as a whole.

 

With all sense of humility and for the avoidance of doubt, it is important to state that neither Hamza Al-Mustapha nor any of those incarcerated along with him are in anyway related to me. While I hail from Maiduguri , Borno State , none of them is from that part of the country. In fact, even by accident I had never come across any one of them when they held sway in their heydays let alone being influenced by such factor to write on their behalf.

 

Mine may not be the first neither would it be the last in the retinue of pleas for justice for these Nigerians. Therefore, the continued incarceration of Al-Mustapha, CP Rabo Lawal, former Zamfara State pioneer Military Administrator Jibrin Bala and Lateef Shofalahan by the judiciary smacks a lot of suspicion, especially taking into consideration the following paradoxical conundrums:-

 

1. If Ganiyu Adams, the leader of the outlawed Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), could freely move around Nigeria despite the fact that he allegedly used the OPC apparatus to massacre hundreds of innocent Nigerians in 2000/2001 beside having been widely condemned by Nigerians through the ‘Shoot At Sight Presidential Order’ and the International Community;

 

2. If the suspected assassins of Late Chief Bola Ige, Nigeria’s former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice could move around freely without being brought to face justice in Nigeria despite daunting facts against them;

 

3. If Mujahid Dokubo Asari (NDVF Agitator), Henry Okah (MEND) and Ralph Uwazuruike (Biafra Agitator) who were at one time or the other effectively arrested and detained by the Federal Government for committing treasonable offences against the Federal Republic of Nigeria could be granted unconditional amnesty for peace to reign in their respective domains;

 

4. If Chief Government Ekpemupolo/Tompolo, Aka Red, Farah Dagogo, Soboma Jackrich (aka Egberi Papa), General Pere and Chief Ateke Tom could be granted unconditional amnesty in the interest of peace, security and growth of Nigeria despite startling atrocities they committed against innocent Nigerians and legitimate foreign investors thereby threatening the National Security of the Country;

5. If the merciless agents of the massacres in Oddi (Bayelsa State) and Zaki Biam (Benue State) could walk freely in Nigeria despite indictment and condemnation by Nigerians and the International Community;

6. If the bloody perpetrators of Jos Mayhem that claimed more than a thousand lives including two promising NYSC members could enjoy their freedom without being brought to justice in Nigeria despite indictments and condemnation by Nigerians and the International Community;

7. If the Federal Government of Nigeria could through its Prerogative of Mercy grant amnesty to the perpetrators of Zangon Kataf Mayhem of 1990s and freely enjoy their movements as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

 

8. If the summary executors of Boko Haram leaders, especially the former Commissioner of Religious Affairs in Borno State Late Buji Foi and other hundreds of innocent Nigerians could not be brought to justice despite Federal Government’s condemnation of the dastardly act and the International Community;

 

9. If the abductors of former Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State could have unfettered freedom in Nigeria without being brought to face the wrath of justice despite the fact that they committed treason against Nigeria by defying the Governor’s immunity power as stated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

10. If, despite the startling revelations and indictments of persons at the celebrated Justice Chukwudifo Oputa Truth & Reconciliation Panel, but yet all those indicted were shielded from facing the full wrath of justice by the Federal Government for the sake of healing the wounds of the past and entrenchment of peace & harmony in Nigeria;

11. If, the life sentences of the 27 soldiers that mutinied against the Federal Government in Akure last year could be commuted to 7 Years imprisonment despite the serious implication of the offence in the Military.

12. If Lieutenant General Ishaya Rizi Bamaiyi (Rtd), the former Chief of Army Staff during the regime of Late Head of State General Sani Abacha and with whom Major Hamza Al-Mustapha had been facing trial before he was discharged and acquitted by the judiciary leaving Al-Mustapha and co in the gulag.

 

13. If Colonel (Dr.) Yakassai (Rtd.) could be discharged, acquitted and pardoned from an alleged offence of injecting the modern Nigeria ’s late political juggernaut, Shehu Musa Yar’adua to death by the same system that kept Hamza Al-Mustapha and co for an attempted murder case.

14. If some of the former Governors that ruled their respective states in Nigeria from 1999-2007 with spectacular impunity and irresponsibility could be allowed to enjoy their freedom with their families after having been arrested, detained and charged to Court for various corrupt offences thereby betraying the public trust and the Constitution of Nigeria they so swore to uphold. More so, but for the alleged looting of their state resources, only God knows the extent of how these Governors caused agony, avoidable deaths and untold hardship they caused to their people.

 

15. If, despite the exonerating statements at a Lagos High Court of Sgt Barnabas Jabila ( Rogers ) (‘..the juicy promises made me agree to give evidence against the accused persons..’) and Mohammed Abdul (Katako), the prime witnesses that initially under duress implicated Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Co. for an alleged murder of Late Kudirat Abiola in Lagos,


Then, it invariably behoves that there are too many contradictions in the polity and the judicial system of Nigeria , especially taking into consideration the actions/inactions of the above stated scenarios. Many questions beg for answers.

 

Being a consummate leader, the first graduate that ever ruled the most populous black country of the world, a focused and dogged leader per excellence, a leader that is responsive to the yearnings of his citizenry and who from all intents and purposes is sensitive to the sensitivity of Nigerians, I humbly wish to appeal to Mr. President, Mallam Umaru Musa Yar’adua to exercise his prerogative of mercy power in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by tampering justice with mercy and grant Major Hamza  Al-Mustapha and all those being tried along with him for alleged assassination attempt on Chief Alex Ibru and a purported coup attempt.

 

In view of the above and in the spirit of the Nigeria’s 49th Independence Anniversary, the kind indulgence of President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria Malam Umaru Musa Yar’adua (Mutawallen Katsina), is humbly craved to order for the release of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, CP Rabo Lawal, former Zamfara State pioneer MILAD Jibrin Bala Yakubu, James Danbaba and Lateef Shofalahan.

 

Your Excellency, I believe their release cannot in any way affect your fortune as far as destiny is concerned. After all, theirs was among the multifaceted liabilities bequeathed by the previous administrations and therefore their sufferings are not in any way at your instance.

Finally, it is my fervent prayer and, I am pretty certain, the prayers of all well-meaning Nigerians that you would use the wisdom Almighty God has bestowed on you by allowing these Nigerians to rejoin their families. Their families have over the years been unnecessarily subjected to suffer from the shackles of the society their bread winners so loved, cherished and defended.

 

It is doubtful if there has been a protracted case since independence in Nigeria that went through so many courts and Judges with no justice seeming to be forthcoming,

 

May Allah grant President Umaru Musa Yar’adua quality health so he successfully steers the ship of Nigeria to be among the 20 Best Economies of the World by the year 2020 and equally achieve the 7-Point Agenda without any encumbrance