Judge strikes out treason charge against Okah, alleged Independence Day bomber

Gabriel Kolawole, justice of a federal high court, Abuja, has dismissed a treasonable felony charge against Charles Okah, a member of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

The federal government had brought charges of treasonable felony and terrorism against Okah for allegedly masterminding the October 1, 2010 bomb blast, which occurred around the Eagle Square in Abuja.

Okah, who has been in prison since 2011,  filed a no-case submission application after the prosecution concluded its bit in his trial.

He asked the court to dismiss the charges against him and to discharge and acquit him as well.

But in his ruling on Thursday, Kolawole dismissed the charge of treasonable felony against the accused person, saying the prosecution was not able to provide enough evidence to prove it.

However, he dismissed the no-case submission application of the defendant and ordered him to open his defence.

While on a campaign in Lagos in 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan said he was the target of the 2010 attack. But the prosecution was not able to prove this in court; hence the charge of treason was struck out.

Henry Okah, the elder brother of the accused person, is currently in jail in South Africa for alleged gun running.