Former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, yesterday, wept publicly at the Kano Government House while recounting his harsh experiences during detention at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison in Lagos, even as he insisted that he was a victim of trumped-up charges.
Al-Mustapha, accompanied by the founder of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) , Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, had arrived the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, at exactly 12: 05 p.m on board a private jet- Donier 328- to the warm embrace of relations, friends and a tumultuous crowd that had besieged the airport to welcome him amidst a tight security provided by the army and the police.
His convoy drove straight to Government House, Kano, and afterwards, meandered through the metropolitan area of the city to the palace of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero.
Al -Mustapha’s earlier plan to visit the gravesides of his two parents was temporarily shelved on account of the huge crowd that accompanied him.
Speaking in a voice full of emotion, at the Kano Government House, during a thank -you visit to Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Major Al-Mustapha, appreciated his walk back to freedom and lamented that he returned to an empty home having lost his parents during the years of his incarceration.
His words: “I must say that even though I lost my father and my mother whom I was forced to see only two times in 15 years, I am their first child, I must say I was their confidant and their best friend in my family and yet, even when the court forced the then authorities to allow me set my eyes on them, the approvals of the court were flagrantly refused.
“I saw my father in 2001, and later, I saw him in 2007, precisely in May; I was allowed to see my mother in August 2001 and then, I was allowed to see her again after a long battle, despite all instructions from Federal High Court, Lagos. I saw her in 2006 and she died last year, in the month of Ramadan.”
He further recalled that his travails extended to members of his families, noting that some of them suffered overt humiliation and mischief, while recalling that there was a time they attempted to kidnap his children when they were younger.
Major Al-Mustapha summed up his experiences thus: “The things we went through are things that I cannot sum up anywhere, but all I can say is that yesterday is gone, those who have perpetrated what they did against us have done it in their own deductions, analysis, feelings, but to us, yesterday is gone. We have drawn a line and we have forgiven them. We are forging ahead to set examples.”
He was full of praises for the founder of OPC, Dr Fasehun, describing him as, “ a father, highly dogmatic, a senior citizen of this country, a detribalized elder, an intellectual, a person that is a father indeed with a wide shoulder and a big heart, a man that is very reliable, responsible, dependable.”
Major Al Mustapha, said Dr Fasehun stood by him, due to his realisation that justice was being miscarried.
“Having taken time to come to court to realize what was going on in the court of law and on the other hand, what were being scripted and sponsored on the pages of newspapers, magazines, television and the radio were different, he decided to stay on the part of justice and insisted that justice must be served. In rainy season, dry season, cold season, he was always in court.”
In his remarks, Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, described the verdict of the Court of Appeal as bold and urged the friends and relations of Al Mustapha to thank Allah for his freedom.
Kwankwaso recalled that, “ The few times I visited him in prison, I saw the commitment and his faith in Allah and it was obvious that he would one day regain his freedom and today, that has been actualized.”
He also said that what happened to Al Mustapha offered a big lesson to everyone.
Speaking later, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun recalled that 15 years ago, Al Mustapha was taken away from Kano State in chains and in tattered clothes, regretting that while this was happening in Kano, there were jubilations in some other parts of the country.
Speaking to reporters soon after the visit to Government House, Al-Mustapha explained that his visit to Pastor T B Joshua was nothing unusual, describing him as his old time friend, adding that he took advantage of his one day stay in Lagos to visit a number of elders in the South-West region including the Oba of Lagos.
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