Henry Okah
By Channelstv.com
The judge presiding over the sentencing of Henry Okah in the Johannesburg High Court, Neels Claassen has postponed the case again to the 18th, 19th, and 20th of March.
Although the judge had said he would not allow any other postponement, he said he had to do this in order to give Mr. Okah’s new legal team time to get used to the notes left by the old legal team.
The new team led by Gerrit Miller requested for the time following the withdrawal of the former team led by Lucky Multulanla.
The prosecution described the request as a ploy to delay the delivery of justice but Judge Claassen went ahead to grant the plea because, as he said, he didn’t want to force the new team.
If the hearing had held today, witnesses from Nigeria and the United States would have testified in a bid to mitigate the sentencing of terror suspect, Henry Okah following the request of his former attorney, Mr. Multulanla at his last appearance on the 1st of February, to give witnesses time to get to South Africa to testify.
Mr. Okah intended calling at least five people to testify.
He was found guilty in January of 13 counts of terrorism, including engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activities, and delivering, placing, and detonating an explosive device.
The charges related to two car bombs in Abuja, Nigeria, in which 12 people were killed and 36 injured on October 1, 2010, the anniversary of the Nigeria’s independence, and another two explosions in the southern Nigerian city of Warri, earlier in March 2010.
Although the judge had said he would not allow any other postponement, he said he had to do this in order to give Mr. Okah’s new legal team time to get used to the notes left by the old legal team.
The new team led by Gerrit Miller requested for the time following the withdrawal of the former team led by Lucky Multulanla.
The prosecution described the request as a ploy to delay the delivery of justice but Judge Claassen went ahead to grant the plea because, as he said, he didn’t want to force the new team.
If the hearing had held today, witnesses from Nigeria and the United States would have testified in a bid to mitigate the sentencing of terror suspect, Henry Okah following the request of his former attorney, Mr. Multulanla at his last appearance on the 1st of February, to give witnesses time to get to South Africa to testify.
Mr. Okah intended calling at least five people to testify.
He was found guilty in January of 13 counts of terrorism, including engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activities, and delivering, placing, and detonating an explosive device.
The charges related to two car bombs in Abuja, Nigeria, in which 12 people were killed and 36 injured on October 1, 2010, the anniversary of the Nigeria’s independence, and another two explosions in the southern Nigerian city of Warri, earlier in March 2010.
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