Hamza al-Mustapha

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.

Hamza Al-Mustapha 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) (but recently clarified in an open television interview with Channels Television's Seun Okinbaloye that he wasn't ADC that he was the Chief Security Officer) to Chief of Army Staff, General Sani Abacha.

Both his principal and head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida had absolute confidence in his abilities, and entrusted him with exceptional powers, considerably greater than other officers who were nominally his superior.

This further projected him as a strongman of the military hierarchy.

Al-Mustapha was trained as a military intelligence operative.

He held various command posts in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Security Group of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (SG-DMI), 82 Division and Army Headquarters; Ministry of Defence and The Presidency.

He was also involved in counter-intelligence activities and at least two investigations of coup attempts; which brought him to the attention of General Sani Abacha.

He also conducted operations in Chad, Liberia, Bakassi, Gambia and Sierra Leone.

In his evidence before the Commission, Major 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 a number of elite military-security organisations.

Other security outfits at the time were the Office of the National Security Adviser under Ismaila Gwarzo; National Intelligence Agency; Directorate of Military Intelligence; and the State Security Service.

He was so respected and feared by even his superiors that former Minister of Works & Housing under the Abacha regime, Major-General Abdulkareem Adisa told the Oputa Panel that he had no regret kneeling down to ask Al-Mustapha to help him plead to General Abacha for forgiveness following their foiled coup attempt in December 1997.

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