Charles Okah Seriously Ill In Prison
Niger Delta warlord, Charles Okah, currently in Kuje Prison, Abuja awaiting trial is seriously ill as a result of inhuman treatment meted out to him by prison officials, says his solicitor, Festus Keyamo.
Okah has been accused of masterminding the 1 October, 2010 bombing in Abuja, Northern Nigeria and had been on trial. A letter written from Keyamo Chambers to the Comptroller-General of Prisons, Nigerian Prison Service, Abuja complained of the harsh and inhuman treatment of Okah and Obi Nwabueze in custody.
The letter was signed by Oghenovo Otemu, Assistant Head of the Chamber and Mr. Matthew Omonade, counsel to the accused.
“We are solicitors to Charles Okah and Obi Nwabueze on whose instruction we write. Our clients have consistently complained of the harsh and inhuman treatment they are subjected to in your custody.
“Unlike other suspects who are also on the awaiting trial list, our clients are kept in a solitary confinement. They are deprived from worshiping God like other inmates in the worship center; they are not allowed to participate in sporting activities and when their wives and relatives visit them, they are not allowed to see them.
“On several occasions, the wife of Charles Okah was humiliated and prevented from seeing her husband. In the 3rd week of September, 2011 the wife of Charles Okah visited Kuje prisons with drugs for her husband, but she was deprived from seeing her husband,” it said. The counsel continued: “We state that since the 3rd week of September, 2011 till date, the officers of the Nigerian Prisons, Kuje Prisons have persistently refused Charles Okah’s wife access to see her husband against the directive of the court that she and other relatives be allowed access to see him. Each time we complain, the officers of Kuje Prisons always say they are acting on instructions from above.
“Most recently, when Kuje prison was fumigated on the 8 December, 2011 because scorpion was found in charlesOkah’s cell, he was made to remain in the cell and fumigation was conducted on him in his cell. Charles Okah was not allowed to go outside like other inmates to allow the chemicals dissipate before locking him up in his cells.
“As we write this letter, our clients, particularly Charles Okah who is leaving on one Kidney, because he had donated one of his Kidneys to his mother about 25 years ago, is finding it difficult to breath as a result of the effect of the chemicals on him. Other symptoms he is experiencing include chest pain, vomiting, nausea, high blood pressure and so on.”
According to the counsel, “our clients are merely accused persons and not convicts, which means their presumption of innocence guaranteed by the Constitution should be respected. Therefore treating our clients in a manner that suggest that they have been condemned is illegal and unconstitutional.
“We state further that this complaint has severally been made to the Kuje Prisons authority and the court. The court has on several occasions directed the Kuje Prisons officers to accord our clients the same treatment they give to all other inmates in the awaiting trial list, yet our clients are still being subjected to the same inhuman treatment in flagrant disrespect of the court’s directive. “We also state that our complaints are not heeded because each time we complain, the officers involved in this injustice against our clients are rewarded by the powers that be.”
Niger Delta warlord, Charles Okah, currently in Kuje Prison, Abuja awaiting trial is seriously ill as a result of inhuman treatment meted out to him by prison officials, says his solicitor, Festus Keyamo.
Okah has been accused of masterminding the 1 October, 2010 bombing in Abuja, Northern Nigeria and had been on trial. A letter written from Keyamo Chambers to the Comptroller-General of Prisons, Nigerian Prison Service, Abuja complained of the harsh and inhuman treatment of Okah and Obi Nwabueze in custody.
The letter was signed by Oghenovo Otemu, Assistant Head of the Chamber and Mr. Matthew Omonade, counsel to the accused.
“We are solicitors to Charles Okah and Obi Nwabueze on whose instruction we write. Our clients have consistently complained of the harsh and inhuman treatment they are subjected to in your custody.
“Unlike other suspects who are also on the awaiting trial list, our clients are kept in a solitary confinement. They are deprived from worshiping God like other inmates in the worship center; they are not allowed to participate in sporting activities and when their wives and relatives visit them, they are not allowed to see them.
“On several occasions, the wife of Charles Okah was humiliated and prevented from seeing her husband. In the 3rd week of September, 2011 the wife of Charles Okah visited Kuje prisons with drugs for her husband, but she was deprived from seeing her husband,” it said. The counsel continued: “We state that since the 3rd week of September, 2011 till date, the officers of the Nigerian Prisons, Kuje Prisons have persistently refused Charles Okah’s wife access to see her husband against the directive of the court that she and other relatives be allowed access to see him. Each time we complain, the officers of Kuje Prisons always say they are acting on instructions from above.
“Most recently, when Kuje prison was fumigated on the 8 December, 2011 because scorpion was found in charlesOkah’s cell, he was made to remain in the cell and fumigation was conducted on him in his cell. Charles Okah was not allowed to go outside like other inmates to allow the chemicals dissipate before locking him up in his cells.
“As we write this letter, our clients, particularly Charles Okah who is leaving on one Kidney, because he had donated one of his Kidneys to his mother about 25 years ago, is finding it difficult to breath as a result of the effect of the chemicals on him. Other symptoms he is experiencing include chest pain, vomiting, nausea, high blood pressure and so on.”
According to the counsel, “our clients are merely accused persons and not convicts, which means their presumption of innocence guaranteed by the Constitution should be respected. Therefore treating our clients in a manner that suggest that they have been condemned is illegal and unconstitutional.
“We state further that this complaint has severally been made to the Kuje Prisons authority and the court. The court has on several occasions directed the Kuje Prisons officers to accord our clients the same treatment they give to all other inmates in the awaiting trial list, yet our clients are still being subjected to the same inhuman treatment in flagrant disrespect of the court’s directive. “We also state that our complaints are not heeded because each time we complain, the officers involved in this injustice against our clients are rewarded by the powers that be.”
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