THE Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an application by retired Major Hamza Al-Mustapha seeking an extension of time to appeal a judgment of the Federal Capital Territory High Court concerning a property in Asokoro, Abuja.
News Point Nigeria reports that the three-member panel unanimously dismissed the application in a judgment delivered on Monday, holding that Al-Mustapha failed to provide sufficient reasons to warrant the court granting the extension.
In the lead judgment read by Justice Okon Abang, the appellate court also ordered Al-Mustapha to pay N1 million in costs to Al-Nuri Properties, the sole respondent in the appeal.
The dispute arose from a landed property in Asokoro which Al-Mustapha reportedly sold to Al-Nuri Properties for about N100 million but later sought to reclaim after the value of the property appreciated.
Al-Mustapha subsequently described the transaction as a loan, arguing that he intended to refund the money paid for the property.
Al-Nuri Properties, however, rejected the offer, prompting the company to institute a suit on March 16, 2020, seeking to establish its claim over the property.
The High Court of the FCT, sitting in Zuba, subsequently entered a default judgment in favour of the property company on June 16, 2023, after Al-Mustapha’s legal team failed to participate in the proceedings.
Rather than appeal the judgment within the stipulated period, Al-Mustapha returned to the same High Court on April 15, 2024, seeking an order setting aside the earlier decision.
The trial court, however, dismissed his application in a judgment delivered on September 24, 2025.
By then, the statutory period for appealing the June 16, 2023 judgment had already elapsed, with the deadline for filing the appeal being September 15, 2024.
Dissatisfied with the development, Al-Mustapha approached the Court of Appeal, seeking an extension of time within which to challenge the 2023 judgment.
The appellate court, however, faulted him for failing to demonstrate sufficient interest in the proceedings before the trial court.
Justice Abang noted that the records before the court showed that Al-Mustapha failed to honour several hearing notices issued during the proceedings.
The court also rejected his explanation that his legal counsel had abandoned the case, holding that the excuse was insufficient to justify the delay in challenging the judgment.
Justice Abang described the appellant’s conduct as amounting to “doing the right thing at the wrong time.”
The court held that Al-Mustapha ought to have provided a convincing explanation for his failure to appeal the June 2023 judgment within the prescribed period.
The panel further held that his failure to attend proceedings at the trial court raised doubts about whether he would participate in the proceedings if granted an extension of time.
On the allegation that he was denied fair hearing, the Court of Appeal held that Al-Mustapha’s right to fair hearing had not been violated, adding that any situation resembling such a breach was self-inflicted.
Justice Abang further held that where an applicant failed to provide a reasonable excuse for his conduct, he was not entitled to the indulgence of the court.
The Court of Appeal consequently dismissed the application for extension of time, describing it as lacking in merit and amounting to an abuse of court process.
Al-Mustapha was the former Chief Security Officer to the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha.