October 1st bombing: Okah opens defence in FG’s terrorism charge against him

THE detained leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Charles Okah and his co-defendant, Obi Nwabueze, who are standing trial for their alleged involvement in the Independence Day bombing at the Eagle Square Abuja in 2010 on Wednesday opened their defence before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Okah and his co-defendant called their first witness, Elizabeth Okorie, Okah’s former cook and nanny, admitted that Obi Nwabueze, the second defendant in the matter brought one bundle of dollar notes and a bundle of naira notes to Okah on 12th December, 2010, but that she didn’t know the amount.

She told the court under cross examination by the prosecution counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN) that for the ten years she spent as a cook and nanny to Okah before she left for public service, there were only two cars usually parked in Okah’s compound.

The defence witness said, there was never a time that any auto mechanic came to Okah’s compound to work on any of the two cars,

Asked whether she saw a welder, by name Umoren Bassey in the compound doing welding work on the cars for four days, sometime in September, the witness, who said she could see any car that enters Okah’s compound as the location of her room was strategic answered in the negative.

During re-examination, defence counsel Samuel Zibiri (SAN) asked the witness whether she was arrested by operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) or interrogated, the witnesses told the court that she was not arrested and that she was only interrogated.

Elizabeth Okorie further told the court that, SSS operatives, who stormed Okah’s compound with guns carried her along to conduct search on the first defendant’s house on November 16, 2010.

After the re-examination, defence counsel, Zibiri made an oral submission for an order of the court allowing defence counsel have access to the defendants who are remanded at the Kuje prison in Abuja every Saturday.

Zibiri, who said the defence may likely call 15 witnesses in the matter prayed the court to order the prison authorities to allow defence counsel have 3 to 5 hours audience with the defendants every Saturday.

Izinyon, who did not raise any objection to the application expressed the fear that the defendants may abuse the order if made by the court.

In a brief ruling, the trial Judge, Justice Kolawole ordered the prison authorities to allow defence counsel access to the defendants between the hours of 12 noon to 4 pm every Saturday and adjourned the matter till October 11, 2017.

Recalled that Okah and his co-defendant had filled a no-case submission, asking the court to dismiss the charges slammed against them by the Federal Government, a request the court dismissed.

In his ruling on the no-case application by the duo, Justice Kolawole, ordered them to open their defence in the charges against them as the prosecution succeeded in linking them to the alleged offence.

Okah and his co-defendants were charged on December 6, 2010 on an amended 8 counts charge bothering on terrorism.

After several interlocutory applications, on April 23, 2015, trial began with the prosecution counsel calling 17 witnesses.