Wednesday, 20 April 2011 01:19 Ahuraka Yusuf Isah, Abuja
The Southern African authorities yesterday unveiled plans to bring additional charges against Henry Okah, who was alleged to have been behind the twin bomb blasts in Abuja during the 50th Independence anniversary celebration on October 1, 2010.
Okah, a Nigerian national with permanent residence in South Africa, has been in custody since he was arrested at his Johannesburg home on October 2, the day after twin car bombs killed 12 people at celebrations in Abuja to mark the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence from Britain.
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| Henry Okah |
The lead prosecutor, Shaun Abraham, said that they planned to bring additional terrorism charges against him in connection with two explosions on March 15 last year in Warri.
Abraham said the additional charges related to the Warri bombings
“It relates to the act of terrorism and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism.”
Prosecutors say Okah is the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a militant group in the Delta region that claimed responsibility for both the Independence Day attacks and the twin car bombs in Warri,” he stated.
South Africa’s move to lay new charges comes after Nigeria’s intelligence agency in November accused Okah of orchestrating the Warri blasts, which rocked the city during talks on amnesty for former rebel fighters and killed at least one person.
Okah, who is fighting for his release but has twice been denied bail, denied either being MEND’s having any link to the Independence Day blasts.
Okah’s wife said on Tuesday he also denied any involvement in the Warri attacks.
Okah appeared briefly in a Johannesburg court Monday. His case was adjourned to June 21 for further investigation.
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