BREAKING: Niger Delta militant leader, Charles Okah, escapes prison?
– Charles Okah who has been in detention for
the 2010 independence day bombing reportedly escape – He allegedly escaped from
from Kuje prison by scaling the prison walls – The Nigerian Prison Service has
however denied the escape and insists he is still in detention According to
Sahara Reporters, Charles Okah who is a member of the Movement for the
Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) has escaped from Kuje prison. Okah who is
the brother of Henry Okah who was the leader of the group escaped on Friday,
June 25 by scaling the high fence of the prison walls. Charles Okah Okah has
been on trial for the 2010 Independence Day bombing that killed 27 people
during the country’s 50th independence anniversary. The escape happened around
7:30 pm and he reportedly jumped the prison walls with another inmate Security
operatives have begun a massive manhunt to apprehend him. Henry who is the
senior Okah has since been convicted by a court in South Africa. MEND which
used to be a notorious militancy group eventually accepted the federal
government’s amnesty and stopped the destruction of pipelines and kidnap of oil
workers. However, Daily Trust has reported that the news of Okah’s escape from
Kuje prison is not true. Francis Enobore who is the public relations officer of
the Nigerian Prisons Service claimed he was in touch with security operatives
on ground and that Okah was still in detention. He said: “It is not true, Charlse Okah is
still in custody. I have been in touch with our men in the prison facility and
there is nothing like that [Okah escaping].” He however admitted that there was
an incident at the prison on Friday. “Yes there was an incident yesterday, but
Henry Okah was not involved.” Okah infamously tried to commit suicide in court
in 2015 after he addressed Justice Gabriel Kolawole and claimed that former
president, Goodluck Jonathan was responsible for his travails. He had said: “I
have been incarcerated for about five years now, and I have a family to cater
for. “My children would grow up without feeling the warmth of their father. I
am tired of this endless trial.” Earlier this year, Okah embarked on a hunger
strike to protest against harassment by officials of the Kuje prison. In a
letter through Timi Okponipere, his counsel, Okah had addressed the minister of
interior, Abdulraman Dambazau informing him of the danger his death will pose
to the whole country. “At the time of writing this letter, our client is as
emaciated as a bean pole on account of the hunger strike he has embarked upon,
to draw global attention to his plight.” “Literally and figuratively speaking,
our client is virtually a dead man. If our client dies in prison custody, the
entire world, particularly the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta where our client
hails from, shall rise in unison against President Muhammadu Buhari’s
government, even as we concede the fact that, our client’s ordeal began during
the tenure of former president Goodluck Jonathan, a fellow Ijaw,”
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