A suspect of the October 1, 2010 bombing in Abuja, Charles Okah, reportedly attempted suicide in a Federal High Court in Abuja, Tuesday, October 6, 2015.
Okah attempted to jump from the sixth floor of the court house. He was restrained from making the suicidal leap by security operatives who accompanied him to the court today.
Okah’s case with regards to the bombing reportedly masterminded by the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) was heard at the court today.
He appeared before Justice Gabriel Kolawole who adjourned the case to October 20.
Upon the pronouncement by the judge, Okah sought permission to speak to the court over his “endless trial” due to his lawyer’s absence at his trial hearings. The judge granted his request and Okah addressed the court for about five minutes.
“I have been incarcerated for about five years now, and I have a family to cater for,” Okah said in an emotional laden voice. “My children would grow up with out feeling the warmth of their father.”
“I’m tired of this endless trial,” he screamed before he reached for a chair and moved towards a window and attempted to break the glass lourvres.
He was restrained by security operatives in the court and eventually taken back into protective custody.
Okah is a brother to Henry Okah the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation Niger Delta (MEND). He is facing terrorism charges over the Independence Day bombing at Eagle Square, Abuja in 2010.
The MEND leader was convicted of masterminding the bombing in a South African Court in 2013. He was found guilty of 13 counts, including twin bombing on Nigeria’s 50th independence day that killed 12 people. He is currently serving a 24-year jail sentence in a South African prison.
In 2014, Henry Okah attempted a prison break.
