A witness on Tuesday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Mr. Henry Okah, masterminded the October 1, 2010 bomb blast in Abuja because he wanted to register his annoyance with the Federal Government’s rejection of his proposals in the Amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants.
The witness, Mr. Abdul Abubakar, an Assistant Director with the State Security Service and head of its Special Investigation Bureau, made the claim during the trial of Mr. Edward Ebiware, one of those being tried over the bomb blast.
Ebiware was charged alongside Okah’s brother, Charles, and two others – Obi Nwabueze and Tiemkemfa Osvwo.
Osvwo, also known as General Gbokos, died in Kuje Prison, Abuja.
Ebiware obtained a leave of the court to be tried separately from the other accused.
At the continuation of the trial on Tuesday, Abubakar, who was led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr. Alex Izinyon, maintained that Okah was the mastermind of the bomb blast, with the active collaboration of the accused persons.
He told the court, presided by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, that call data records obtained from the phone of the accused revealed a series of conversations between him and Okah.
According to the witness, Okah, in the said conversations with the accused, threatened to cause “mayhem” in the country.
Abubakar said, “We analysed his (Ebiware’s) call data records and we discovered that he communicated with Okah severally, and Henry told him that they will strike and cause mayhem in the country.”
However, the defence counsel, Mr. Okey Uche, while cross examining Abubakar, doubted whether the witness’s claims were contained in any of the statements made by the accused, which were submitted to the court as exhibits 1, 2 and 3.
The defence counsel asked the witness to point out the paragraphs in the statement where it was stated that Okah spoke of plans to attack the country.
The prosecution counsel, raised objections to the request, but following an appeal by the defence counsel, Kolawole ordered the witness to point out the relevant information in the statement.
Reading from the said statement, Abubakar quoted the accused person as saying, “I called Henry Okah and told him about the success of the amnesty programme.
“I told him of the part I played.
“Later, Henry Okah called me several times.
“He said he made a proposal to the Federal Government about the amnesty programme and he was angry that the government did not take his proposal seriously and because of that he is going to strike and cause mayhem in the country.”
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