Convicted over the October 1, 2010 Independence Day bomb blasts in Abuja, Charles Okah has decried his ongoing solitary confinement at the Maiduguri Maximum Security Correctional Centre, appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to grant him a state pardon on medical grounds.

Okah, who has spent nearly 16 years in custody and was sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2018 alongside co-defendant Obi Nwabueze, disclosed that he has been kept in solitary isolation for 501 days.

According to Okah, his strict confinement was retaliatory punishment after he reported allegations that certain correctional officials were forging court warrants to illegally release prison inmates.

Speaking on his conditions, Okah stated: “I have been in solitary confinement for 501 days in Maiduguri prison. I am psychologically down. I am isolated from other inmates. I thought I was being a good citizen. I exposed what was happening, but up till now, they have kept me locked up.”

Addressing his plea for presidential clemency, Okah noted that his remaining single kidney is currently failing, urging President Tinubu to grant him freedom to enable him to receive appropriate medical treatment.

“My appeal to the President is that he should release me now because I think I have a lot to offer this country outside prison than being in prison,” Okah said, adding: “I don’t know if Mr. President can really look into my case. President Tinubu should pardon me.”

His legal counsel, C. A. Mishael, had previously submitted formal applications to the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service requesting his immediate transfer back to facilities in Abuja or Lagos, citing severe health complications including uncontrolled hand tremors, blood in his urine, and a lack of specialized medical equipment in Maiduguri.

Maintaining his innocence regarding the 2010 attacks, Okah expressed hope that the federal administration would review his situation and consider his release as done for other inmates in past years.