Why Al-Mustapha Deserves Pardon

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha

The long-running trial of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, is probably one of the most pathetic cases of slow process of justice. Although his appeal against the death sentence on him is due to be heard on April 29, 2013, it is never too late to once again call on President Jonathan and the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Tunde Fashola to intervene politically and grant him pardon.

Prejudice or hostility against suspects or convicts should not deter governments from intervening in legal matters to provide a political solution. In the case of Al-Mustapha, there are even worries whether the inconsistencies and discrepancies in witnesses accounts could have justified the death sentence imposed on him on January 30 2012.
Pardon or amnesty is not a new thing in many countries. The famous British jurist and statesman, Mr. Francis Bacon, described revenge as a form of wild justice, which the law should seek to weed out. If Nigerians could support state pardon for persons involved in deliberate mass murder in the spirit of reconciliation and unity of the country, it is doubtful if the same Nigerian would reject pardon for others, including Al-Mustapha.
In fact, the amnesty policy should be broad enough to cover all Nigerians; the policy should not discriminate against any Nigerian. It is also not true that only northerners are keen about the freedom of Al-Mustapha. The sentiments of mercy respect no ethnic or regional boundaries. The former Niger Delta militant leader, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, and the factional leader of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasheun, have repeatedly added their voices to the appeal for amnesty to Al-Mustapha.
There is the theory that no judge would dare set Al-Mustapha free in the hostile political and social environment of the SouthWest. I however think that prejudice should not be allowed to interfere with justice. If judges let themselves to be influenced by public sentiments rather than the strength of evidence before them, then the whole concept of criminal justice would have lost its purpose. And that is the more reason I believe this theory is far-fetched.
Dr. Frederick Fasheun is a prominent Yoruba figure and so is Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Both of them have made passionate and repeated appeals for state pardon to be granted to Al-Mustapha. The Scottish government ignored American and British public sentiments and granted pardon to the late Libyan convict in the 1989 Lockerbie terrorist bombing of Pan Am air lines, Mr. Basset Al-Magrahi.
He was pardoned on health grounds and, despite the hostility of the Americans to the pardon, the Scottish government went ahead with the decision because it was convinced the action was right.
Would state pardon for Al-Mustapha mean the end of the world for Nigeria? If state pardon for mass murderers that publicly confessed their crimes didn’t destroy Nigeria, how would granting pardon for Al-Mustapha hurt Nigeria? This young army major has spent more than 15 years languishing in detention.
We have yet to hear superior arguments why Al-Mustapha should not deserve state pardon like other Nigerians granted clemency. Is his alleged crime the worst ever committed in Nigeria? Hasn’t he suffered enough, having already spent 15 years behind bars? In fact, his mother even died because of high blood pressure caused by the distress of her son’s tribulations.
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison and became the President of South Africa, many revenge-hungry blacks were expecting him to throw his white enemies into jail or hang them. However, the sage never did so because he knew societies should not be built on revenge. Instead, Mandela established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, headed by Dr. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Laureate.
President Jonathan and Governor Fashola should act like statesmen in this matter. Statesmen rise above the sentiments of the crowd. They should put higher consideration on the issue of unity and reconciliation above anything else. Northern political leaders and other opinion leaders should also reach out to the SouthWest to find ways to end Al-Mustapha’s travails once and for all.
The seeming indifference of northern leaders to his plight is compounding his suffering. In fact, unless northern leaders demonstrate more active interest in this matter by reaching out to the SouthWest, President Jonathan may not find the encouragement to grant him state pardon.
Major Al-Mustapha should not be abandoned to his fate by northern leaders. Political initiatives and pressures ultimately led to the negotiations for the freedom of former militants and OPC leaders. There are legal issues that can be resolved politically. In 1995, the late General Sani Abacha had offered the initiative to release the late Chief Moshood Abiola from detention as part of a political solution.
Unfortunately, the then NADECO leaders rejected the offer and Abiola died an avoidable death. Statesmanship entails courage to take difficult decisions, even if some people may not like them. It is better to err on the side of mercy than to be right on the side of vengeance