Daughter of the alleged mastermind of the 2010 Independent Day bombing, Charles Okah, Tarila has alleged that there is a judicial conspiracy to frustrate her father by ensuring his continuous stay in prison.
Appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to pardon her father, Tarila claimed that there has been no compelling evidence against Okah over the last six years that he has spent at the Kuje Prison in Abuja.
In a letter to the President, she alleged that there is a deliberate plot to keep her father in prison, citing an instance when a member of the prosecuting team allegedly travelled abroad for his child's convocation instead of appearing in court.
Hide quoted text
The letter reads in part, "In a recent court sitting, a witness from the Department of State Security (DSS) who introduced himself as a 'Crime Scene Investigator' admitted that, "no evidence was collected at the crime scene.
"It is rather unfortunate that several court dates in the course of my father's trial have been cancelled either because the presiding Trial Judge had a conference to attend or for other reasons that brings disrepute to the Nigerian justice system.
"For instance, the prosecutor Dr. Alex Izinyon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria failed to attend one of the trials on a date that had been agreed upon beforehand, instead choosing to attend his child's graduation ceremony abroad."
Tarila contended that her father is entitled to bail under the constitution having spent six years in detention.
Describing her father as a prisoner of conscience, Tarila urged the President not to limit his anti-grat war to financial crimes alone but extend his tentacles to other areas.
"Mr. President, in your determined quest to fight corruption in Nigeria, I believe that the concept of corruption should be expanded beyond financial crimes. We must also fight corruption in the system, and in this case, the judicial system. We have witnessed the speedy handling of cases involving high profile politicians, but a very sluggish process for others," she said.
Recall that Okah was first arrested in connection with the 2010 Independent Day bombing on October 16, 2010 on suspicion of being the spokesman of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Jomo Gbomo.
Following his arrested Okah has been languishing in prison.
Also Justice Gabriel Kolawole of an Abuja Federal High Court had on two different occasions denied Okah bail.
Comments