Henry Okah: Judicial and political plunders by trial judge  BY Sabella Ogbobode Abidde http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/86753
Eighth: At one point Judge Claassen lost control of his court. For instance, when witnesses for the state – witnesses being held in the custody of the Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) were testifying -- the judge permitted an officer from the security agency, Mr. Clifford Osagie, to sit directly across the witnesses thereby intimidating the witnesses to do/say as they had been instructed. What Judge would allow such malicious intimidation to take place in his courtroom? And on January 31, 2013 when Mr. Okah appeared in court for the mitigation phase of the trial, it seems as if the Judge was not interested, thus causing a heated argument between all parties involved. According to eye witnesses, it was as if the Judge was ‘eager to do the bidding of the Nigerian government.’In a post-9-11 world, all that is needed for your human and civil rights to be taken away is to be branded a terrorist. And whether or not you are, in many cases, does not matter. The label stays. And once this happens, the key to your cell, metaphorically speaking, may be thrown away. Many of the journalists who attended the trial seem to believe that the entire trial was a travesty right from the beginning. There is also the impression that the trial is being paid for and being orchestrated by the Nigerian government. Whether this is true or not is difficult to ascertain. Nonetheless, theinvestigating officer, Col. Zeeman conceded that some of the ‘evidences’ used to deny Mr. Okah bail, were fabrications. No credible evidence exists that links Henry Okah with any of the bombings. All through the trial, no piece of scientific or credible physical evidence was ever produced. No trustworthy witnesses took the stand. None! You do not convict a man based on beer parlor rumors, or because there is a long-standing grudge between the accused and President Jonathan. Whether you like Mr. Okah or nor is irrelevant. What matters is justice: justice borne out of the truth. History and posterity will show that, sadly, Judge C.J Claassen made a grave error in his pronouncements. [ed notes;just citing few excerpts,click link for whole piece and shady case...