Charles Okah File copy

The ongoing trial of Charles Okah and three others accused of terrorism acts against the Federal Government, took a dramatic turn on Tuesday as the suspects accused prison authorities in the Kuje prison, Abuja, of torturing them.

Okah and others are on trial for their alleged involvement in the October 1, 2010 bomb blast near the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Okah, the younger brother of the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Henry Okah, who is also on trial in South Africa over the same matter, and his co-accused, Obi Nwabueze, Edmund Ebiware, and Tiemkemfa Francis Osvwo, had pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges at an Abuja Federal High Court.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole had on December 14, 2011 fixed Tuesday December 20, 2011 to rule on an application brought by the defence counsel, urging the court to stay further proceeding in the matter pending the hearing and determination of an appeal they lodged before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

Kolawole had also ordered the prosecution, led by Alex Izinyon, to investigate and submit a report on allegations made by the accused that they were forced to inhale intoxicant in their cell.

Okah’s counsel, Mr. Oghenovo Otemu, told the court at the commencement of hearing that his client was seriously sick and as a result could not report for trial.

Otemu said Okah had collapsed in his cell and “cannot move, cannot talk.”

He also told the court that, for complaining to the court about their maltreatment in prison custody, the accused persons were subjected to further punishment by the prison authorities.

“For complaining to the court, they were locked up as punishment”, Otemu said, adding that Okah’s wife had not been allowed to see her husband since September.

Izinyon told the court that it was only on Tuesday morning, as the suspects were about to be moved to court, that Okah reported that he was not feeling well, and as a result, he was taken to the clinic.

He also told the court that Okah’s wife was denied access to her husband because she smuggled a sim card into the prison.

“My learned friend made a heavy weather of the refusal to allow the wife of the 1st accused access, but the prison authorities said they allowed her access initially until they smuggled sim card into the prison. So they said they cannot allow her access again,” Izinyon said.

Kolawole asked whether it was not too harsh to deny the spouse access to her husband because of the incident.

Izinyon said the prison authorities had been having problems with Okah.

He said, “The report from the prison is that they have been having difficulties with the 1st accused – there is a report that he tampered with the padlock, they had to change the padlock. They even want to send him back to the custody of the SSS or the DMI.”

-Punch

Posted by admin on Dec 21 2011. Filed under Headlines, Niger Delta. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry