Charles Okah attempts suicide in court

Charles Okah

A suspected mastermind of the October 1, 2010 bombing in

Abuja, Charles Okah, caused a row, by attempting to commit

suicide during Tuesday’s proceedings in his trial before a

Federal High Court in Abuja.

Okah, after ending an emotion-filled comment about his

protracted trial during the court session, grabbed a nearby chair

with which he made repeated but futile attempts to break a

window in order to create an opening through which he could

jump down from the courtroom located on the third floor of the

five-storey building.

His frustration on Tuesday was ignited by his lawyer’s absence

in court.

Defence lawyers – Mr. Samuel Zibiri and O.O. Otemu – were

provided by the Federal Government-owned Legal Aid Council,

after Okah in October last year, dispensed with the services of a

Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, whose law firm had defended

him since the case started in 2010.

Okah, who is standing trial along with Obi Nwabueze for

terrorism charges arising from the October 1, 2010 bombing

incident, sought the permission of the trial judge, Justice Gabriel

Kolawole, to speak after it was discovered that his lawyer was

not in court.

After the judge granted him permission to speak from the dock,

Okah in an emotional outburst expressed frustration about his

long incarceration and the attendant deprivation of the

opportunity to cater for his family.

Okah said, “I have been incarcerated for about five years now,

and I have a family to cater for.

“My children would grow up without feeling the warmth of their

father. I’m tired of this endless trial.”

It took the intervention of lawyers and some other persons who

were in the courtroom for their respective cases to stop his

attempt to commit suicide after his emotion-laden speech.

The chair with which he attempted to break the window was

collected from him after he was overpowered and Justice

Kolawole promptly adjourned the case till October 20.

The lead prosecuting counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) , was in

court during the Tuesday’s dramatic event.

Okah, is a brother to former leader of the Movement for the

Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Henry Okah, who is already

serving jail terms in South Africa for the bombing near the Eagle

Square, Abuja, on October 1, 2010 in which about 12 persons

were said to have died.

The prosecution had a major breakthrough in the case when it

called its first witness on April 23, 2015.

For over four years, Okah and his legal team deployed a flurried

interlocutory applications which hindered progress in the case.

At the opening of his case, Izinyon called the first prosecution

witness, Mr. John Afolabi, who is an exhibit keeper at the

Department of State Services, and through whom 14 exhibits

were tendered and admitted by the court as exhibits on

Tuesday.

The witness said during his evidence-in-chief that the items were

retrieved by DSS investigators at “scenes of investigation” into

the bombing incident.

The first exhibit admitted by the trial judge, Justice Gabriel

Kolawole, was a list of items which Afolabi said were retrieved

during the investigation conducted into the bombing by the DSS.

Other exhibits were the 13 items contained in the list. The list

comprised an old Mazda 626 car with registration number

LAGOS BY 318 FKJ, military wear and camping materials.

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