Place Okah on chains during trial, FG begs court

The Federal Government on Tuesday asked Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja, to put the alleged mastermind of Independence Day bombing, Charles Okah, in chains. Okah, who is standing trial on charges of terrorism alongside Obi Nwabueze, had on Oct.6 attempted to jump out of the court located at the third floor of the five storey building. At the resumed hearing, the prosecution, Dr Alex Iziyon (SAN), made an oral application requesting that Okah be chained to avoid a possible abortion of justice. Iziyon, who referred the court to Section 269 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, urged it to grant the application to save the life of the accused person henceforth during proceedings. “Where a defendant or an accused person misbehaves or displays misconduct in the course of proceedings in such magnitude, he or she should be placed under fetters. “I urge the court to take judicial notice of the proceedings of Oct. 6 and grant our prayer,’’ he said. Responding, Mr. Samuel Ozidiri (SAN), counsel to Okah, apologised to the court on behalf of his client and urged the court to discountenance the prosecution’s request. He argued that the application was pre-mature and not worthy of any sympathetic consideration, arguing that the prosecution failed to put the defence on notice before coming up with such an application. Delivering a bench ruling on the application, Justice Kolawole said granting the prosecution’s request might turn out to be the greatest distraction in the suit. He said: “by the provisions of section 6 subsection 6 paragraph 8 of the 1999 constitution, this court as one of the superior courts of record created by the constitution, is imbued with discretionary jurisdiction.