Independence Day bombing suspect dies in prison

. Nigerian Prisons Service has  denied reports of the death of one of the suspected masterminds of the October 1, 2010 bomb blast in Abuja, Tiemkenfa Osvwo (akaGeneral Gbokos).

The Prisons Public Relations Officer, Kayode Odeyemi, said he read about Osvwo’s death in the newspapers like everyone.

“I am not aware of his death, I don’t know what happened to him; I just read about it in the newspapers,” he  told our correspondent on telephone on Sunday.

Osvwo was arrested by the State Security Service along with three others for their  alleged involvement in the October 1, 2010 blasts that claimed many lives in Abuja.

A statement by Osvwo’s lawyer, Festus Keyamo, had claimed the suspect died at Kuje Prisons on  Saturday following the fumigation of his cell by the prison authorities, alleging that he was murdered.

He also alleged that other accused persons in the bombing still in Kuje Prisons were re facing similar conditions that claimed Osvwo’s life.

Keyamo claimed that Osvwo’s death was the result of the maltreatment meted out to the accused persons in prison.

He said, “The sickness leading to the death of Tiemkenfa Francis Osvwo started when their cell was fumigated with a strange substance on the January 8, 2012, which affected the health of all the four suspects. Suffice it to reiterate that we, their solicitors raised the alarm about that development at the time.

“Prior to his death in custody, Gbokos had been urinating and defecating on himself in the prison and despite pleas by his solicitors requesting that he be treated properly, no one attended to him.

The SSS could not be reached for comments on how Osvwe’s death would affect the trial of the other suspects as its spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, did not respond to our correspondent’s telephone calls.