Court orders FG to provide lawyer for Charles Okah

Posted by admin Headlines Thursday, December 4th, 2014

The Federal Government is to provide a defence lawyer for the alleged mastermind of the 2010 Independence Day bombing in Abuja, Charles Okah, who is facing terrorism charges before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Charles, a brother to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Henry Okah, is being tried alongside Obi Nwabueze for the bomb attack near the Eagle Square in Abuja.

Henry had been tried and is already serving jail terms in South Africa for the attack in which about 12 persons were said to have died.

Charles and his co-accused, Obi Nwabueze, have been without a lawyer since they disengaged the services of a Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, in October.

On Thursday, which was the next sitting after the accused dispensed with Keyamo’s services, Charles appeared in court without any lawyer.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole therefore directed that the Federal Government-owned Legal Aid Council should be contacted to provide a lawyer for the accused.

The judge said the need for government to provide a defence lawyer for the accused was in the spirit of fair hearing to which he (the accused) was entitled.

He then adjourned the matter till February 19 and 25, 2015.

A lawyer from Keyamo’s law firm, Mr. John Ainetor, had disclosed to Justice Kolawole on October 8, 2014, that Charles, through his relatives stopped the law firm from further appearing for him and his co-accesed.

No reason was given for the disengagement of Keyamo’s law firm. The firm had been defending the accused person since 2010.

Justice Kolawole had on July 8 adjourned the matter till October 8 for the prosecution led by Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) to open its case by calling its first witness.

But the development of Keyamo’s withdrawal from the case stalled the proceedings.

Izinyon confirmed that keyamo had informed him of the development but expressed worries over what he referred to as four years of “delay tactics” by the accused.

He described the development as “curious” and urged the court to relieve Keyamo and give the prosecution time to call its witnesses.

-Punch

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