Almustapha Hamza

Hamza Al-Mustapha (born 27 July 1960) is a retired Nigerian Army major, intelligence officer and politician who served as Chief Security Officer to Head of State General Sani Abacha from 1993 until his death on 8 June 1998.

He was born into an Hausa family and educated in Nguru. He enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1983.

From August 1985 to August 1990, Al-Mustapha was Aide-de-camp (ADC) to Chief of Army Staff, General Sani Abacha (later clarified that he was the chief security officer, not ADC). Both General Ibrahim Babangida and Abacha had absolute confidence in his abilities, entrusting him with exceptional powers.

Trained as a military intelligence operative, Al-Mustapha held various command posts in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Group of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (SG-DMI), 82 Division, Army Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, and The Presidency. He was involved in counter-intelligence activities and at least two investigations of coup attempts.

He conducted operations in Chad, Liberia, Bakassi, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. In his evidence before the Commission, Al-Mustapha emphasized that he had subscribed to an oath to protect the Head of State and his family, as well as the Seat of Government.

General Sani Abacha seized power in 1993 and appointed Al-Mustapha as his head of security from 17 November 1993 to 8 June 1998. In this role, he was responsible for the security of the regime and established elite military-security organizations.

Other security outfits included the Office of the National Security Adviser under Ismaila Gwarzo, National Intelligence Agency, Directorate of Military Intelligence, and State Security Service. Former Minister of Works & Housing, Major-General Abdulkareem Adisa, testified that Al-Mustapha was so respected and feared that he had no regret kneeling to ask Al-Mustapha to plead for forgiveness after a foiled coup attempt in December 1997.

Al-Mustapha oversaw the reorganization of Nigeria into six geopolitical zones, cultivating a vast network of spies and informants across the federation: North Central, North East, North West, South East, South South, and South West.

After General Sani Abacha’s death on 8 June 1998, Al-Mustapha assembled the military hierarchy to avoid a succession crisis. General Abdulsalam Abubakar emerged as head of state on 9 June 1998, and Al-Mustapha was removed from office and arrested on 21 October 1998 for crimes, including an alleged role in the assassination of Kudirat Abiola.

Following his arrest, Al-Mustapha was questioned by the Oputa Panel, accused of plotting coups from prison, and moved to Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, where he was tortured for over a year. His family faced threats, and his possessions were looted. He was in chains and solitary confinement, receiving only a cup of water daily.

In May 2011, rumors claimed he had been murdered at Kirikiri, but these were untrue. In 2007, appeals for his release were made, including by former military president Ibrahim Babangida. On 21 December 2010, he was acquitted of most charges, but not the alleged murder of Kudirat Abiola.

In July 2011, the case was reopened. On 30 January 2012, the Lagos High Court found Al-Mustapha guilty of the murder and sentenced him to death by hanging. On 12 July 2013, the Court of Appeal overturned the high court judgment and acquitted him of all murder charges.

During the fifteen-year trial, Al-Mustapha appeared before thirteen different judges and two magistrates. After his release, he moved to Kano. In January 2017, the Government of Lagos State filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Nigeria to uphold the previous death by hanging verdict.

In 2017, he made his political debut. With grassroots support and an appeal to youth, he founded the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN) and later unsuccessfully ran as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) during the 2019 presidential election, receiving approximately 0.02% of the vote.

He ran again in 2023 under Action Alliance, but was legally disqualified after a dispute over his primary win over Samson Odupitan. He continued to campaign, splitting the Action Alliance into pro-Al-Mustapha and pro-Odupitan factions. He ultimately finished with approximately 0.06% of the vote.

In October 1998, he was charged with the June 1996 murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the presidential candidate M.K.O. Abiola (who had died in jail in July 1998). At the trial, Sergeant Barnabas Jabila testified that he was obeying orders from Al-Mustapha.

Al-Mustapha and four others were also charged with a 1996 attempt to murder Alex Ibru, publisher of The Guardian and Abacha’s Minister of Internal Affairs. Another charge was laid against him for the attempted murder of former Chief of Naval Staff Isaac Porbeni. On 1 April 2004, he was charged with being involved in a plot to overthrow the government, allegedly conspired to shoot down the presidential helicopter of President Olusegun Obasanjo using a surface-to-air missile smuggled from Benin.

As chief security officer to General Sani Abacha, Al-Mustapha was accused of involvement in drug trafficking, using diplomatic pouches to transport drugs.