Charles Okah Writes The Catholic Church From Kuje Prison Regarding October 1 2010 Bomb Blast Trials
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Charles Okah |
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I hope this
letter meets you well. The reasons I choose to direct this letter to you
are that I am a Catholic and you are an old boy of my alma mater, St.
Gregory’s College, Lagos.
I write from Kuje Prison Abuja where two other Catholics and I have
been languishing in solitary confinement for 2 years on trumped-up
charges relating to the October 1, 2010 bomb attack claimed by the
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
My name is Charles Tonbra Okah, aka Billy Bones. On October 16, 2010
operatives of the State Security Services on a warrant invaded my
residence in Apapa GRA claiming that I was the suspected spokesman for
MEND using the pseudonym “Jomo Gbomo.” My eldest son, visiting from the
United States where he attends the University of Kansas (KU) was also
arrested.
At the SSS Headquarters Abuja where we were flown blindfolded with
our legs and hands bound, my ‘cooperation’ was solicited for something
completely different to my surprise. My captors threw me a lifeline;
offering me freedom and a lucrative contract in exchange for false
testimony against my younger brother Henry, who is resident in South
Africa. I was to write a false statement claiming to have been told by
Henry about the bomb plot and naming the following persons as his
conspirators:
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