Independent Day Bomb Blast: No Private Physician For Okah

A federal high court siting in Abuja on Monday refused the request of Mr. Charles Okah, suspected mastermind of the 2010 Independent Day bomb blasts which rocked Nigeria's federal capital city, Abuja, for a private physician to examine him with a view to determining if he is medically fit to stand trial.

Mr. Okah's request followed the submission of a panel of doctors who examined him on the orders of the court and recommended that he is fit to stand his trial. The suspected bomber insisted that he is not fit for trial and accused the doctors of bias noting that since the federal government paid for the examination, that the doctors obviously submitted a favourable report to satisfy the government and therefore requested to be allowed to recommend his own private doctor whose services would be paid by his family, to examine him and see if he is fit for trial.

He  urged the court to grant him leave to be examined by an independent private medical practitioner to be appointed and paid for by his family to examine him and ascertain his physical and mental health status and decide whether he is medically fit to stand trial.

Okah who is standing trial on treasonable felony charge over the bomb blasts which rocked the federal capital city during the 2010 Independence day celebrations at the Eagle Square, also want the court to grant leave to the private medical practitioner to produce a medical or scientific analysis or report on the side effect of a drug, Epilim Sodium Valproate; ESV, which was prescribed and administered on him by the prison authority which he further claims to be a prescription for the treatment of Epilepsy.

His lawyer, Mr. Aineto John had  told the court that there was an element of bias in the medical report submitted by a three man medical panel who had examined Mr. Charles Okah earlier and turned in a report that indicates that the suspected bomber is medical fit to face his trial.

According to the lawyer, "despite acknowledging that the drug had side effects and confirming that the accused has occasional fluctuation in his level of consciousness, suffers intermittent involuntary muscular jerks and hallucinatory experiences as well as persistent delusional disorder, the medical panel still turned in a report where they concluded that the accused is fit for trial". 

He argued that it is either the medical panel is biased or the federal government induced them to produce the report it wanted and urged the court to allow the accused family to nominate a private medical practitioner that will give a fair and unbiased assessment.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole struck out the application on the grounds that it was an abuse of court process and a strategy to further delay the trial of the suspected bomber who was arraigned in 2010 following his arrest after the bomb blasts but whose trial could not proceed due to series of applications brought by the suspect's lawyers to delay the trial.

The federal government, represented by Dr. Alex Izinyon, a senior advocate of Nigeria had opposed that application and urged the court to dismiss it as it is a ploy to delay the trial which has suffered several delays since it commenced four years ago.

According to the senior advocate, "the application as presently constituted is an abuse of court process and is calculated to irritate the state. For four years now, this same accused person had brought several applications to delay this trial. We have need for justice to be done in this matter. Justice is not for the accused alone, what about the school pupils who lost their lives in the blasts, don't they deserve justice? This court has been very fair to this accused person for the past four years and the state had been patience. He was the person who requested for National Hospital doctors to examine him, now that the report is out confirming our position that he is fit to face his trial, he wants his family to appoint another medical practitioner to examine him. How can his own family be the ones to nominate or appoint a doctor for his examination in a matter of this magnitude? That kind of request is not founded in law"

The court thereafter adjourned the Matter to July 8th for trial.