Al-Mustapha’s mother dies at 67

Hajiya Fatima Al-Mustapha Nguru, mother of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the late head of state General Sani Abacha has died.

She passed away at a hospital in Kano on Wednesday at the age of 67 after a protracted illness.

Her funeral prayer was held at the family residence on Lamido Crescent area of Kano metropolis after which she was buried at Kofar Mazugal cemetery in Kano city at around 5:30pm.

The deceased was survived by 10 children including Major-General Al-Mustapha and many relatives.

Bereaved family members seen in tears refused to talk to the press, but a close family source blamed Hajiya Nguru’s death on “accumulated emotional problems which had continued to worsen” since her son, Al-Mustapha, was imprisoned more than 13 years ago.

Sources say her condition deteriorated after her last but unsuccessful attempt to see Al-Mustapha in prison, after he was sentenced to death in January by a Lagos High Court judge for his alleged role in the death of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola in 1996.

“There wasn’t a single day that she would not discuss her son’s predicament with anybody who happened to be around her.

She always believed that her son would not die in the hands of the authorities till the day she died. She always believed her son was innocent”, the source said.