Charles Okah and
three others who are standing trial for last year’s Independence Day
bomb blast in Abuja which killed at least 12 people, yesterday told a
Federal High Court in Abuja that it has no jurisdiction to try them
over the offence.
At the resumed
hearing of the case yesterday, counsel to Mr Okah, Ogheneovo Otemu,
told the court, that all the accused persons have filed a notice of
preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court and
also noting that the proof of evidence submitted by the prosecution
does not link the accused persons with the commission of the alleged
crime.
But counsel to the
State Security Service (SSS), Alex Izinyon,told the court that there
are several material evidences linking the accused persons to the
October 1st,2010 bomb blast. At the last sitting, the Judge ordered
that Mr Okah, be taken to a hospital after he collapsed in court when
he, along with his co-defendants – Obi Nwabueze, Edmund Ebiware, and
Tiemkemfa Francis Osvwo – stepped into the dock at the court, to
continue their trial over alleged treason.
The judge, noticing
that Mr Okah looked ill, asked him if he would like to sit or stand for
the trial. At that point, Mr Okah collapsed and fell to the floor.He
then adjourned the case till yesterday, noting that the Chief Medical
Director of the National Hospital would, on that date, inform the court
in writing whether Mr Okah was fit to stand trial.
After the ruling of
the court at about 12.15pm, an ambulance belonging to the Nigerian
Prison Service accompanied by a heavily-armed Prison Armed Squad and
State Security Service officials took Mr Okah away from the court
premises.
No bail status
The court had, in
December 2010, ruled that there would be no bail for the October 1 bomb
blast suspects,saying that the offence which they were charged with was
a “very serious one.” The prosecution had slammed two separate charges
against the accused persons which include an eight-count charge
concerning the October 1 bomb blast during the nation’s 50th
independence anniversary in Abuja and a one-count charge over an
explosion at a post-amnesty seminar organised by Vanguard Newspapers in
Delta state where governors of Delta, Edo and Imo were in attendance.
