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Hundreds of youth under the aegis of
the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), on Monday, staged a protest
at the Ministry of Justice, Abuja, calling for the release of Hamza
Al-Mustapha, former chief security officer to the late head of state,
Sani Abacha, and three others.

The others are former Lagos
commissioner of police, James Danbaba, former Zamfara State military
administrator, Jubrin Bala Yakubu, and former chief superintendent of
police, Mohammed Rabo Lawal. The youth carried various placards with
pictures of Mr Al-Mustapha, with various inscriptions calling for their
immediate release.

Some placards read: ‘President Goodluck
Jonathan, free Al-Mustapha and others for democracy’, ‘The youths want
Al-Mustapha released’, ‘Justice delayed amounts to justice denied’,
among others.

Let justice reign

However, another human rights group,
Education Right Campaign, called on Goodluck Jonathan to ignore the
calls for the release of the four who are currently standing trial in a
Lagos court.

According to Taiwo Soweto and Chinedu
Bosah, Mr Al-Mustapha and the others committed various nefarious
activities under the late Abacha, and must face justice rather than be
released.

But the leader of the AYCF, Shettima
Yerima, said that keeping Mr Al-Mustapha and others behind bars
contradicted Nigeria’s position as a signatory to UN and Commonwealth
Conventions and Resolutions on Human Rights, Torture, Detention and
Imprisonment.

According to him, all the witnesses
that the state has pushed forward in the court have, by and large,
debunked the allegations levelled against these gentlemen.

Neither the Attorney General of the
Federation, Mohammed Adoke, nor any official from the ministry,
addressed the protesting youth, while the two gates to the ministry
were locked, thereby preventing people from going in or coming out of
the building.