"I’m Looking Better, Fit & Ready For Trial" – Abuja Bomb Blast Suspect, Okah Speaks

Four years after he was arraigned with three others (Obi Nwabueze, Edmund Ebiware & Tiemkemfa Francis-Osvwo a.k.a General Gbokos) over their alleged involvement in the October 1, 2010 bomb explosion which killed 12 people and injured several others in Abuja, Charles Okah, told a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, that he is looking better and now fit and ready for trial.
He said his recovery and healthy look was due to the intervention of the International Red Cross and the British High Commission, which provided them with basic needs, including bedding materials.

“I do not want my health to be a factor any more in this case as it had been before now. I was actually ill. I did not pretend and never deliberately tried to stall this trial. The condition in the prison has now improved. They now allow me to exercise,” Okah told the court.

Okah, who was allowed to address the court personally, said he may no longer be able to recognize his children because the prison authorities had denied members of his family access to him. The terror suspect said he was also not provided with sufficient medical attention and denied opportunity to undergo checkup in government’s hospitals. At a point, Okah raised his polo T-shirt, exposing a long scare on the left part of his stomach. He pointed at it and said:

“Three years ago, I donated one of my kidneys to my mother. I am a half man now, who requires constant checkups. But, the government hospitals do not have the facilities required for it. But I am ready for trial. I am eager to clear my name and prove my innocence.”