Retired Major Hamza Al-Mustapha has suffered another setback in his bid to challenge a 2023 judgment over an Asokoro property, with the Court of Appeal ruling that his failure to act within the prescribed time was not sufficiently explained.
The Abuja appellate court dismissed Al-Mustapha’s application for an extension of time, faulting him for failing to participate in proceedings at the Federal Capital Territory High Court before seeking to overturn its judgment.
A three-member panel unanimously rejected the application in a judgment delivered on Monday.
Justice Okon Abang, who read the lead judgment, said the records showed that Al-Mustapha failed to honour several hearing notices during the original proceedings.
The court also rejected his explanation that his lawyer had abandoned the case, holding that the reason did not adequately account for the delay.
The property dispute followed the reported sale of an Asokoro property by Al-Mustapha to Al-Nuri Properties for about N100m.
Al-Mustapha later disputed the nature of the transaction, reportedly describing the money as a loan and offering to refund it.
Al-Nuri Properties rejected the offer and filed a suit on March 16, 2020, to establish its claim over the property.
The FCT High Court sitting in Zuba entered a default judgment in favour of the company on June 16, 2023, after Al-Mustapha’s legal team failed to participate in the proceedings.
Instead of appealing within the stipulated period, Al-Mustapha returned to the trial court in April 2024 to seek an order setting aside the judgment.
That application was dismissed on September 24, 2025.
He subsequently approached the Court of Appeal, asking for more time to challenge the 2023 judgment.
But the appellate court held that he had failed to provide a convincing explanation for missing the deadline.
Justice Abang described his conduct as “doing the right thing at the wrong time” and said the failure to provide a reasonable excuse meant he was not entitled to the court’s indulgence.
The court also dismissed his argument that he had been denied fair hearing, holding that any failure in that regard was self-inflicted.
In addition to dismissing the application, the court awarded N1m in costs against Al-Mustapha in favour of Al-Nuri Properties.
Hamza Almustapha
