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•May get life in prison
A South African court yesterday
convicted Henry Okah of 13
terrorism charges, including twin
bombings that killed 12 people in
the Abuja on Nigeria’s
Independence Day in 2010. “I
have come to the conclusion that
the state proved beyond
reasonable doubt the guilt of the
accused,” said Judge Neels
Claassen, handing down the
verdict in the South Gauteng High
Court.
Okah was found guilty of
masterminding attacks including
twin car bombings in the federal
capital on October 1, 2010, and
two explosions in March 2010 in
Warri, Delta State, a major hub of
the oil-rich Delta region.
He faces a minimum term of life
in prison when the court
sentences him by February 1.
Okah, who has sympathy for the
ideals of the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(MEND), which in 2010 was a
well-equipped armed group
fighting for a greater share of
Nigeria’s oil wealth, claimed
responsibility for the attacks that
took place as Nigeria celebrated
50th independence anniversary.
MEND has a history of staging
fierce attacks on oil facilities and
kidnapping expatriate workers
in the Niger Delta.
Okah denied involvement in the
Abuja blasts and said the charges
were political. But the judge said
evidence “overwhelmingly
established that the accused was
the planner, funder, supplier,
instructor, expert and leader in
the execution of the bombings in
Warri and Abuja.” Okah has
denied leading MEND, but has
admitted sympathising with their
goals.
The court saw documentary
evidence of his role in the group,
including handwritten notes by
his wife. Okah, 46, is thought to
be the first foreign national to be
tried for terrorism in South
Africa. South Africa said it
arrested and tried him as a
signatory to international laws
on terrorism as well as on the
back of a UN resolution urging
nations to prevent and suppress
terrorism.
Okah holds permanent residence
in South Africa, but is known to
have travelled back and forth
between the two countries. “An
international terrorist was
successfully prosecuted in South
Africa,” said prosecutor Shaun
Abrahams. “We feel vindicated
that justice has been done. We
simultaneously feel this is a test
case in the history of our law.”
Legal sources said Okah is
unlikely to be extradited back
home where chances are high he
would face a death sentence.
A marine engineer by training,
Okah was granted permanent
residence in South Africa in 2007
based on his ability to run his
own business there. In 2007, he
was arrested in Angola for arms
and explosives trafficking.
A year later, he was extradited to
Nigeria to face treason and
gunrunning charges. In 2009,
Okah was freed from a Jos
prison in Plateau State where he
claimed poisonous snakes had
been released into his cell. His
release followed an amnesty deal
offered by the government to
thousands of Delta militants. The
court said he then left for South
Africa, but returned to Nigeria in
early 2010, sponsoring the
purchase of cars, which were
modified to allow the fitting of
explosive devices.
Months later, the cars were used
to bomb Independence Day
festivities that were attended by
several foreign heads of state,
including South African President
Jacob Zuma. Okah was convicted
of threatening to disrupt South
African businesses in Nigeria,
including kidnapping its
workers. He was also accused of
being a spokesman for MEND.
Nigerian police have described
him as “an international gun-
runner and a major oil bunkerer
(thief) in the Niger Delta.” Around
30 witnesses were flown in from
Nigeria to testify in the case,
including the Minister of Niger
Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe.