Former rebel leader due in SA court after Abuja blasts

JOHANNESBURG – A former leader of a rebel group that claimed responsibility for Nigeria’s deadly independence day blasts denies involvement and is due before a South African court today, his lawyer said.

Henry Okah, ex-leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), was arrested on Saturday in Johannesburg, the day after twin car bombings in Nigeria’s capital Abuja killed 12 people.
‘He is due to appear in court tomorrow. He has not been charged yet,’ Okah’s lawyer Piet du Plessis told AFP yesterday.
‘He was arrested on the allegation of contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act.’
Du Plessis said Okah denied any involvement in the blasts near celebrations for Nigeria’s 50th anniversary of independence, which drew worldwide condemnation.
‘Although Mr Okah, a Nigerian citizen, is a known sympathiser of the fate of people of the Niger Delta, he denies having made himself guilty of any crime in the RSA (Republic of South Africa) or anywhere else,’ Du Plessis added in a statement.
‘Our instructions are that his arrest is totally unwarranted and only an ill-advised attempt to please the Nigerian authorities.’
The lawyer called for Okah’s immediate release.
South African police have refused to comment on the detention.
Okah was arrested in Angola three years ago and transferred to Nigerian custody.
He was released as part of an amnesty programme offered to militants in the Niger Delta, the heart of Nigeria’s oil industry, and lives in Johannesburg.
Friday’s car bombs marked the first time Mend has struck in the capital and came after a lull in attacks that followed the amnesty. – Nampa-AFP