In March, Mustapha was removed from a civilian jail by military intelligence officers for questioning over allegations he is linked to a suspected plot to overthrow Nigeria's civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mustapha served as the feared security chief to Nigeria's former military dictator, Sani Abacha, during the latter's 1993-1998 reign.

He was being held on remand on a charge that he and four others ordered the February 1996 attempted assassination of newspaper publisher and former internal affairs minister Alex Ibru, who had fallen out with Abacha.

Defence lawyer Olalekan Ojo told AFP that the trial could not go ahead Tuesday because his client was not in court.

He said presiding judge Olubunmi Oyewole was angry that the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) refused to comply with an order to produce him.

"This is the second time the military will be disobeying the court to bring him," he said.

Ojo said the judge has fixed July 1 for hearing in the murder trial and he expects that he will be brought to court.

"The trial could not proceed because Mustapha was not brought even though the other accused were in court," he added.

At the last hearing in April, the judge criticised the DMI for moving the suspect from Kirikiri prison on March 31 without a court order.

But counsel to the DMI, Taiwo Oshipitan, had argued that Mustapha was being held on suspicion of endangering "national security."

WAR.WIRE