Abacha's son cleared of murder

Another blow to President Obasanjo

The Nigerian Supreme Court has thrown out the murder charge against the son of the late military leader, General Sani Abacha.

Mohammed Abacha is expected to be freed after being held for three years on charges of ordering the murder of Kudirat Abiola in June 1996.

She was the wife of jailed opposition leader Moshood Abiola, who is thought to have won the annulled 1993 elections.

Riots followed the death in prison of Moshood Abiola

Mr Abiola was imprisoned in 1994 by General Abacha and died in prison in 1998, just one month after the military leader's death.

His wife had campaigned for his release from prison before she was shot dead in Lagos.

The court voted four to one in favour of Mr Abacha's appeal against the charge of murder.

"I find great merit in this appeal and I allow it," Judge Falihu Belgore said in a written ruling.

The court decision will be seen as a failure of the civilian government in its attempts to uncover the truth about the excesses of successive military regimes, the BBC's Dan Isaacs says.

Suspicion not enough

"All the charges against him have been quashed. We are expecting him home on Monday," Abacha family aide Ahmad Ibrahim told the French news agency AFP on Thursday.

Celebrations were reported to have already started at the Abacha family home in Kano.

The judge who issued the court decision said that the case against Mr Abacha was based on suspicion.

"Suspicion, however well founded, does not amount to a prima facie case," Judge Belgore said.

Mohammed Abacha was arrested in 1999 with four other men and charged with ordering Mrs Abiola's murder.

She was shot dead in June 1996 when a car, alleged to have been owned by Mohammed Abacha, blocked her vehicle in a Lagos street.

Other charges

Mr Abacha is still facing a separate trial on charges of embezzling millions of dollars during his father's five years as Nigeria's military ruler.

General Abacha headed a corrupt military government

In May, President Olusegun Obasanjo revealed details of his government's deal with the Abacha family for the return of huge sums of money sent abroad by General Abacha.

Nigeria had been pressing the Swiss Government to return funds kept in Swiss bank accounts.

Under the deal the Abacha family kept $100m, which the Swiss Government says "demonstrably do not derive from criminal acts".

The Abacha family agreed to return around $1bn to the Nigerian Government from accounts around the world.