Charles Okah and three other men facing trials over the October 1, 2010 deadly bomb blasts in Abuja will know their fate on July 29 when the judge delivers ruling on the culpability of the accused on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony faced by them.
Mr Okah, alongside Edmund Ebiware, Obi Nwabueze and Tiemkemfa Francis Osuwo (aka General Gbokos) were arrested by officers of the state security service in the wake of the bombs detonated in Abuja on the day Nigeria was celebrating its 50th independence anniversary. A group, calling itself the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had threatened to disrupt the event. Charles Okah’s younger brother, Henry, believed to be a leader of MEND, is currently facing a separate trial in South Africa.
At yesterday’s sitting, Gabriel Kolowole the presiding Judge adjourned to July 29 to rule on whether to quash the charges or not.
Counsel to Mr Okah, Mr Ogeneeo Otemu, adopted his argument on why the court should quash the charges against the accused persons. Counsel representing the 3rd and 4th accused persons, Ugochukwu Ezekiel and Ibrahim Idris, both adopted their arguments in line with Mr Otemu’s submission for the court to quash all charges against their clients, relying on Section 77 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), Cap 80 Laws of the FRN.
But, prosecuting counsel, Alex Izinyon, urged the court to dismiss all the preliminary objections raised by the defence counsel, citing both Sections 77 of the CPA and 33 of the Evidence Act to strengthen his position. He described the objections “as too simplistic to sway the court.” Having listened to the submissions by all the counsel, Mr Kolawole adjourned the matter till July 29 for ruling.
The court had in December 2010, ruled that there was no bail for the October 1 bomb blast suspects, saying that the offence which they were charged with was a very serious one. In his ruling on the bail application brought by Mr Okah and the three others accused of terrorism and treasonable felony by the federal government, Mr Kolawole, said the offence which the accused persons were standing trial for, carried a maximum sentence of death and life imprisonment in the second case.
“The offence which they are charged with is serious in nature, is a very serious one indeed,” he said. Specifically, he said he was unable to lay his hands on any concrete fact or evidence that would convince him to grant the accused bail.
“I am not satisfied and convinced that if the accused are granted bail, they will be available to attend their trial.” He said violence and terrorism has never been a part of Nigeria’s history and thereby dismissed the application for bail.
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