Meet Hamza Al-Mustapha who is contesting for the president of Nigeria under, Action Alliance political party for the 2023 presidential election that will take place on 25th of February 2023.
Hamza Al-Mustapha comes from a Hausa family in Yobe state and grew up in Nguru, a town in Nigeria. He went to school in Nguru and learned many things there during his early years. Let’s read his full biography and net worth below.
Hamza Al-Mustapha Biography
Hamza Al-Mustapha is a retired major in the Nigerian Army who used to work as an intelligence officer. Hamza was born in the year 1960 and currently at the age of 63 years old. He is from Nguru, Yobe state, Nigeria.
Al-Mustapha was in charge of security for General Sani Abacha, who was the military leader of Nigeria from 1993 until he died suddenly on June 8, 1998. Hamza Al-Mustapha joined the Nigerian Defense Academy in Kaduna and became an officer in the Nigerian Army in 1983.
Date of Birth | Age
Hamza Al-Mustapha was born on 27 July 1960, he is currently at the age of 63 years old this year 2023. He will be 64 years old next year 2024.
State of Origin
He was born in the Nguru, Yobe State, Nigeria. The town were Hamza Al-Mustapha was born, Nguru is known for its historic Nguru Lake which is a major source of fishing and irrigation.
Wife | Children
Hajiya Hafsa Al-Mustapha is married to Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, Hajiya Hafsa Al-Mustapha went to the Kaduna Polytechnic and got a diploma (OND) and a higher diploma (HND) in Hotel Management.
After completing her studies, she worked at the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Tourism. We have no record about their children, but we promise to update you guys as soon as we get any details about them. ((pressreader.com))
Military Career
Al-Mustapha worked as a security officer for General Sani Abacha, the Chief of Army Staff and later the head of state of Nigeria, from August 1985 to August 1990.
He was not officially the Aide-de-camp (ADC), but rather the Chief Security Officer, with more power than other officers who were supposedly his superiors. Both General Abacha and the head of state at the time, General Ibrahim Babangida, trusted him a lot.
Al-Mustapha had training in military intelligence and worked in various positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Directorate of Military Intelligence, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as in the Presidency.
He was also involved in investigating attempted coups and was sent to other countries, including Chad, Liberia, Bakassi, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. Al-Mustapha took an oath to protect the Head of State and his family as well as the Seat of Government, and he saw this as his duty.
Head of Security
Just as we said earlier in his Military Career, General Sani Abacha became the leader of Nigeria in 1993, and he appointed al-Mustapha as his head of security from November 17, 1993, to June 8, 1998.
Al-Mustapha was responsible for keeping the regime safe and set up some special military-security organizations to do this. There were other security groups at the time, like the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Intelligence Agency, the Directorate of Military Intelligence, and the State Security Service.
Al-Mustapha was so respected and feared that even people who outranked him, like former Minister of Works & Housing Major-General Abdulkareem Adisa, would kneel down and ask for his help. In December 1997, when Adisa was part of a failed coup attempt, he begged al-Mustapha to plead with General Abacha to forgive him. ((Wikipedia))
After the Death Sani Abacha
After General Sani Abacha died on June 8, 1998, al-Mustapha brought together the leaders of the military to prevent a crisis over who would take power next.
The following day, General Abdulsalam Abubakar became the new head of state. However, al-Mustapha was removed from his job and arrested afterwards.
Controversies
- Hamza al-Mustapha is a former head of security under the regime of General Sani Abacha in Nigeria.
- He was accused of plotting coups, charged with murder, attempted murder, drug trafficking and an attempt to overthrow the government.
- He was arrested after General Abacha died and was held in various detention facilities for years.
Arrest | Internment
After General Abacha’s death, al-Mustapha was arrested and interrogated. He was accused of plotting coups and was held in various detention facilities where he was subjected to torture, chains and solitary confinement for over a year.
He was allowed only a cup of water daily and was subject to psychological torture. His private residences were looted, and his family was subject to numerous threats.
Acquittal | Release
In 2010, al-Mustapha and his co-defendants were acquitted of most charges. However, he was still accused of the murder of Kudirat Abiola.
In 2012, he was found guilty of the murder and sentenced to death by hanging, but in 2013, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the verdict and acquitted him of all murder charges.
After his release, he entered into partisan politics, founded the Green Party of Nigeria, and emerged as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Party of Nigeria during the 2019 presidential election.
Charges
Hamza al-Mustapha was charged with several crimes, including murder, attempted murder, drug trafficking, and attempting to overthrow the government.
He was accused of ordering the murder of Kudirat Abiola and attempting to murder Alex Ibru, publisher of The Guardian, and Isaac Porbeni, former Chief of Naval Staff.
He was also accused of being involved in a plot to shoot down the helicopter carrying President Olusegun Obasanjo using a surface-to-air missile smuggled into the country from Benin. Finally, he was accused of involvement in drug trafficking, using diplomatic pouches to transport the drugs.
Net Worth
His net worth is expected to be below $15 million. Thank you for reading his full biography and net worth. in case you missed it, we recently wrote a post about the full Wikipedia biodata of Omoyele Sowore. He is also a politician who was born in Niger delta, Nigeria.
