SAN FRANCISCO, December 04, (THEWILL) – Terror suspect, Charles Okah, accused of 2010 Independence Day bombings in Abuja, has been ordered to be taken for a psychiatric test to ascertain whether he is mentally sound to undergo trial.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja gave the order Wednesday while ruling on arguments by lawyers for the prosecution and defence on whether or not Okah was fit to stand trial.
Okah is being tried along with Obi Nwabueze over the 2010 Independence Day bombing in Abuja which led to the death of about 12 persons with several others injured.
Four people, suspected to be members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) led by Henry Okah , who is currently serving jail term in South Africa,were originally arraigned before the court in December 2011 over the incident.
One of them, Tiemkemfa Francis Osvwo a.k.a General Gbokos, died later, while another, Edmund Ebiware, who had his trial conducted separately, got a life jail term.
When Okah was brought to court on a wheel chair by prison officials, Wednesday, he could barely move. The prison officials had to push him to the side of the court room to enable the judge see him.
His co-accused, Obi went into the dock.
His lawyer, John Ainetor, had told the court that his client’s health condition had deteriorated. He said Okah could no longer walk as he was confined to the wheel chair and “is shaking.”
He accused the prison authorities of denying his client adequate medicare.
Ainetor told the court that his client could not stand trial in his current state because he was not fit.
Responding, the prosecutor Alex Iziyon (SAN), said Okah, who is the first accused person, was pretending.
He noted that it has become a pattern with the accused to always feign ailment on realising that he would be taken to court for trial.
Iziyon argued that the legal requirement that accused must be fit to stand trial did not imply that he must be able to stand on his feet in court.
According to him, He contended what the law implies is that the accused must be of sound mind and be conscious enough to understand happenings around him.
Iziyon cited the case of former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, who was taken to court while lying on a bed, and in a cage.
He argued that if the law could allow a former president to be so treated, Okah, an ordinary citizen could not hide under a doubtful claim of ill-health to evade trial.
He argued that the claim of ill-health was part of the defence’s strategy to continue to delay trial.
At a point, the trial judge drew the lawyers’ attention to a medical report on Okah, sent to the court by the prison authorities, and authored by the Chief Consultant Neorologist at the National Hospital, Abuja.
Part of the report by the medical experts at the National Hospital was to the effect that, by his conduct, there was a need to subject Okah to psychiatric evaluation, to ascertain his mental state.
This medical opinion later informed the decision of the judge, who held that in view of the opinion of the medical experts the state of the first accused’s mental health be ascertained, “I am ready to exercise a little more patient.”
He then ordered that the accused be taken to the National Hospital for psychiatric evaluation within seven days from today.
The judge ordered that the report of the examination should be made available to the court, through the court’s Deputy Registrar (Litigation) after the exercise.
He held that, should it turn out that the accused (Okah) was not mentally stable enough to be subjected to trial, he would be transferred to a psychiatric home, where he would remain until he was certified fit for trial.
The judge further held that the bill for the treatment and examination of the accused should be paid by the Federal Government, through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
He held that except the prosecution intended to separate the trial, as was done in the case of Ebiware, the trial would resume next year.
The judge consequently adjourned to January 15, 16; February 5 and 6 next year.
The accused are facing a one-count charge with 22 particulars of overt acts of treason and another 8-count charge of terrorism.
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