Charles Okah, a suspected member of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), blamed for the 2010 Independence Day bomb that killed at least 10 people with many more injured, has written to the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, saying he was pressured by government to implicate leading opposition figures in the incident.
“At
the SSS Headquarters Abuja where we were flown to, blindfolded with our
legs and hands bound, my ‘cooperation’ was solicited for something
completely different to my surprise,” Mr. Okah, whose younger brother is
being tried in South Africa over the same allegation, said in his
November 19, 2012 letter from the Kuje Prison in Abuja. “My captors
threw me a lifeline; offering me our freedom and a lucrative contract in
exchange for false testimony against my younger brother Henry, who is
resident in South Africa.
“I
was to write a false statement claiming to have been told by Henry
about the bomb plot and naming the following persons as his
conspirators: Former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief
Raymond Dokpesi, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, Chief Timipre Sylva, and Dr.
Emmanuel Uduaghan. I bluntly refused.”
Mr. Okah has been in prison custody since 2010 after he was over the incident.
Mr.
Okah’s younger brother had also said in a shocking court depositions a
few months ago said Mr. Jonathan and his aides organized the attacks in a
desperate political strategy to demonize political opponents, and win
popular sympathy ahead of the 2011 elections.
“The
purpose of the 14 March 2010 bombing in my opinion was to create an
atmosphere of insecurity in the Niger Delta where President Goodluck
Jonathan at that time, was fighting to oust the governor Mr. Emmanuel
Uduaghan whom President Goodluck Jonathan intended to replace with his
Minister for Niger Delta, Mr Godsday Orubebe,” Mr. Okah said in a
194-page affivadavit obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.
“The
bombing on 1 October 2010 was a platform for the elimination of
political opposition from the north in the form of General Ibrahim
8abangida. The bombing of 1 October 2010 was also intended by the
President Goodluck Jonathan Government to create anti North sentiments
nationwide in order to galvanize support from other sections of Nigeria
against other northern candidates in the Presidential elections,” he
said.
In
his letter to Cardinal Okogie, Charles Okah has now leveled the same
allegation against the administration, saying he is being persecuted for
refusing to implicate opposition elements as requested by government.
He also talked about the poor treatment he and his colleagues were facing in prison custody.
Read full letter below.
November 19, 2012
Charles T. Okah
Single Cell Block
Kuje Prison
Abuja, Nigeria.
His Eminence
Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie
c/o Catholic Church Secretariat
Lagos, Nigeria.
Your Eminence:
October 1 2010 Bomb Blast Setup and Government Double Standard
Greetings
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I hope this letter meets you
well. The reasons I choose to direct this letter to you are that I am a
Catholic and you are an old boy of my alma mater, St. Gregory’s College,
Lagos.
I
write from Kuje Prison Abuja where two other Catholics and I have been
languishing in solitary confinement for 2 years on trumped-up charges
relating to the October 1, 2010 bomb attack claimed by the Movement for
the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
My
name is Charles Tonbra Okah, aka Billy Bones. On October 16, 2010 my
residence in Apapa GRA was invaded by operatives of the State Security
Services on the warrant that I was the suspected spokesman for MEND
using the pseudonym
“Jomo Gbomo.” My eldest son, visiting from the United States where he attends the University of Kansas (KU) was also arrested.
At
the SSS Headquarters Abuja where we were flown to blindfolded with our
legs and hands bound, my ‘cooperation’ was solicited for something
completely different to my surprise. My captors threw me a lifeline;
offering me our freedom and a lucrative contract in exchange for false
testimony against my younger brother Henry, who is resident in South
Africa. I was to write a false statement claiming to have been told by
Henry about the bomb plot and naming the following persons as his
conspirators: Former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief
Raymond Dokpesi, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, Chief Timipre Sylva, and Dr.
Emmanuel Uduaghan. I bluntly refused.
To
maintain pressure on me, I was told that my son would be implicated in
the bomb matter, my containers of legitimate imports then at the Tin Can
Port would be impounded and my business destroyed. I still did not
budge, tossing their lifeline back with royal disdain.
When
they realized I was not going to connive in their scheme, they became
formal and reverted to the main reason for my arrest. I was asked for
the MEND password which I told them I did not know. They bound me in a
chair, took off my trousers and clamped a device to my penis. My legs
were then put inside a basin of water. The device when turned on passed a
high voltage of electricity to my body and I lost consciousness. This
was on Monday October 18 at about 6pm. When I regained consciousness, I
discovered I was at the National Hospital emergency room. I remember the
doctors asking why I had trauma marks on my chest where the SSS doctor
performed Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The SSS operatives
were
evasive in answering questions at the hospital. That night I was
released and taken to rest for the night at the State House Clinic. That
was the last time a torture was carried out on me.
My
son was eventually released after Mr. Femi Falana visited in the
company of my wife after a month of being denied access to a lawyer.
However, my containers have been impounded up to date and my bank
account frozen.
The
SSS stopped asking about the MEND password after Jomo Gbomo made
another statement while I was in their custody but refused to still let
me go because I did not cooperate earlier with them. Meanwhile in the
ongoing trial in South Africa, Henry is accused of being the same Jomo
Gbomo by the same people who say I am JG.
Double Standard in Kuje Prison:
On
December 24, 2010 we were remanded in Kuje prison as a result of our
application to be removed from the SSS detention cell. Unknown to us,
the SSS passed instructions from “above” to the prison authorities to
carry out “special treatment” in order to stampede us into a trial
towards conviction. For 2 years we have been locked up in solitary
confinement, are not allowed to exercise or get sunlight outside and are
forced to sleep on the floor when bunk beds are available. Even a court
order by Justice Gabriel Kolawole to the prison for a change in our
confinement style was ignored after it was superseded by an ‘order from
above.”
In
late 2011, while locked up inside our cell block, prison officials
clothed in protective apparel, face masks and gloves carried out
fumigation without opening us to wait outside. Our protests fell on deaf
ears and by the time they were finished we were in distress.
The
Youth Corper doctor on call tried her best within her limits to the
emergency she was confronted with. The poisonous gas and barbaric action
reminiscent of the Nazi concentration camp infamous gas chambers,
eventually led to the death of one Francis Osuwo, aka Gboko, also roped
into this case by the SSS and a man I have never met before.
Interestingly,
the four persons in detention were strangers to each other except for
one Obi Nwabueze who is a family friend and close associate of Henry.
The
fumigant, whose chemical constituent were never relayed to us, have
affected my neurological system and I have been on a daily prescription
of strong neurological medication prescribed by a neurologist of the
National Hospital, Professor Bwala.
While
the Boko Haram suspects at Kuje prison are allowed to worship in the
prison mosque, we have never set foot in the prison chapel. They are
also enjoying privileges such as cable television, radio, liberty to
move within the prison walls, bunk beds to sleep on and phone calls to
their families. We are denied all of the above.
When
I asked the current Controller of FCT Command the reason for the
disparity, he said “the fear of Boko Haram is the beginning of wisdom.”
He further said the Moslem community was concerned about their welfare
in custody.
Double Standard in the Court:
Even
in the Courts where justice is supposed to be blind, the double
standard is glaring. While Senator Ndume, accused of being a financier
to Boko Haram was given bail by the same Judge presiding over our case,
we have been denied bail.
I
understand that this Senator was permitted by the same court to travel
on his religious obligation to Mecca for the lesser Hajj while we are
refused from attending mass in a chapel less than 50 meters from our
cell block.
The
court is willing to permit the Senator approval to travel abroad for
his medical check if he can provide proof that such check up is not done
locally. Meanwhile, I have been denied my application to go on a
compulsory checkup which in my case is mandatory for a kidney donor,
having donated my left kidney to my mother 30 years ago.
Our
cases have been adjourned repeatedly for cruelly long durations. The
last time I appeared in court was March 2012 and the next adjourned date
is January 31, 2013, that is if that date will not be shifted again
under a flimsy excuse.
All
we ask is for a free and fair justice from an independent Judiciary
that should release us instead of holding us as scapegoats over an
obvious power show. While this government continues holding us hostage,
our families are becoming destitute.
Our
rights to freely worship as Catholics is being infringed by the state
who have more respect for Islam when all religions should be treated
equally.
Double Standards in the Polity:
The
National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) was quoted as saying
that the government of President Goodluck Jonathan has the phone
numbers of suspected Boko Haram sponsors. Later the Inspector General of
Police said certain
individuals had been put on a “watch list” as suspected Boko Haram sponsors.
Now
the big question is why did the government not simply have our phone
numbers and put us also on its ‘watch list” while we move about freely?
They did not hesitate to arrest us, clamp us on trumped-up charges and
detain us on flimsy excuses. They did not merely talk, they took action
even in South Africa where
my brother was arrested since 2010. Is there a better word to describe this other than hypocrisy?
The
same government eager to negotiate with Boko Haram who claimed
responsibility for over 100 attacks where Catholics have suffered the
brunt, have refused to negotiate with MEND and continue to delude
themselves that all is well.
Why
would this government expect Boko Haram to unmask it leaders and
negotiate when they can see that perceived leaders and supporters of
MEND are being persecuted and jailed?
I welcome a fact-finding visit from the Church in the company of credible Human Rights groups to verify our allegations.
On
the two occasions Kuje Prison was visited by the Bishop of Abuja during
the Christmas of 2010 and 2011, he was surreptitiously steered away
from where were we are held hostage and I believe he has no idea of what
is going in inside Kuje prison.
Our
prayers is that leaders of our Churches will be more sensitive and
proactive in politics of the land that touches the lifes of their
followers and not leave delicate issues solely in the hands of corrupt
and selfish politicians, and majority of the population rid of a
“Potiphar” mentality who believe lies when
told by SSS.
May God save our beloved country.
Yours Sincerely,
Charles T. Okah
CC: Pope Benedict, Vatican, Rome
Catholic Bishop of Abuja Diocese, Abuja FCT
“I was sick and in prison, and you visited me.”
-Matthew 25. 35, 36
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