South African Court yesterday found the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Henry Okah, guilty of a 13-count charge of terrorism.
The court has accordingly fixed January 31 or February 1 to sentence the ex-militant leader, who has October 1, 2010 bomb explosion in Abuja. The incident almost marred the 50th anniversary celebration of Nigeria’s independence. Okah faces a possible life sentence, according to South African judicial sources.
The convict had denied the charges even though his group, MEND, said it carried out the attack. Okah’s elder brother, Charles, and three others are facing treason charges before an Abuja High Court also in relation to the October 1 bombings.
In finding Okah guilty of charges bordering on conspiracy to commit terrorism as well detonating explosives, the trial judge of the Johannesburg High Court, Neels Claassen, stated: “I have come to the conclusion that the state proved beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused.” The judge, however, offered him an opportunity of “mitigation”.
The Federal Government had accused Okah of being the mastermind of the deadly attack which occurred about a kilometre from the Eagle Square, the venue where President Goodluck Jonathan, former heads and members of the diplomatic corps gathered for the anniversary celebration.
The explosion left about 12 people dead and many others injured. Okah’s epic trial commenced in October 2010 during which the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, testified before the court sitting in Johannesburg. He told the court that Okah was a “key figure in the Niger Delta struggle and the militants had a lot of respect for him.”
In the course of the trial, the prosecuting counsel, Shaun Abrahams, had presented evidence of phone conversations between the accused person and those who were said to have carried out the attacks allegedly on his orders. He also provided computer records and photographs revealing incriminating images and footages.
Though MEND claimed responsibility shortly after the affront, Okah, who was widely regarded as the group’s leader, denied the claim. Rather, Okah accused President Jonathan and some of his close aides of staging the attacks in a desperate bid to “demonise” political opponents. This, he added, was with a view to currying public sympathy ahead of the 2011 elections.
In a 194-paragraph affidavit, Okah had averred that “The purpose of March 14, 2010 bombing in my opinion was to create an atmosphere of insecurity in the Niger Delta where President Goodluck Jonathan at that time was fighting to oust the Governor, Mr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, whom the President was allegedly intended to replace with the Minister for Niger Delta, Mr. Godsday Orubebe.”
Okah had also claimed that he had been a long acquaintance of the President whom he said had been contacting him in South Africa through Orubebe and Oronto Douglas, seeking his backing of President Jonathan for the 2011 election.
Reacting to the judgement, Charles Okah’s lawyer in Nigeria, Festus Keyamo, described the court verdict as politicallymotivated. Keyamo in a statement in Lagos yesterday said that the convict was not given adequate opportunity to defend himself before being found guilty.
He said: “The decision of the South African Court that convicted Henry Okah of charges relating to terrorism is politically motivated and legally incorrect. “As counsel to Charles Okah and others who are facing the same set of charges under Nigerian laws, I have been actively involved in coordinating the trials both in South Africa and in Nigeria.
“The fundamental flaw in the trial is that Henry Okah was not given adequate facilities and the opportunity to defend himself. “This is because after the prosecution closed its case in South Africa, the defence attorneys and my chambers here in Abuja tried frantically to summon the witnesses of Henry Okah who are based here in Nigeria to testify on his behalf.
These witnesses include some government officials. “In this regard, we wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation who replied and directed that Henry’s counsel in South Africa apply to the court there for an order to secure the legal assistance of the Attorney- General of Nigeria. This was only two weeks ago.
“Without giving Henry’s counsel in South Africa adequate time and facilities to follow the directives, the South African court foreclosed his opportunity to call witnesses and rushed to convict him.
This is a breach of his fundamental right to fair hearing and an obvious attempt by the South African authorities to please Nigeria at all cost. That is why the judgement is nothing but political. “I condemn this judgement and call on Nigerians and the international community to condemn the trial and judgement of Henry Okah whose only offence was his refusal to accept the so-called amnesty offered by the Yar’Adua-Jonathan administration and his insistence on the Niger Delta controlling its resources.”
But two prominent Nigerian lawyers, Prof. Fidelis Oditah (SAN) and Mr. Fred Agbaje have described the verdict as setting a precedent in criminal justice administration system in Africa. The lawyers, who spoke in exclusive interviews with National Mirror in Lagos, said that the decision would enable Nigeria to learn how to tackle terrorism in the country.
Reacting to the conviction, Oditah said: “I did not participate in the South African criminal proceedings that convicted Henry Okah but if you have to consider the time frame in which the trial was conducted, you will see that South Africa has demonstrated precedent in criminal administration system in Africa.
“It shows willingness and the strong desire on the part of both the prosecution and the defence to see the speedy administration of justice. In Nigeria, the reverse is the case, both the prosecution and defence frustrate the trial and in the intent of the court to ensure justice.”
On the government’s attitude to combating terrorism in the country, he said: “The question is not whether we are serious about fighting terrorism, the question is do we have the capacity and the knowledge to combat terrorism? “The South African government has shown the capacity and the commitment to do this.
We here in Nigeria have really not had the capacity to tackle terrorism. But I do think that given the limited resources, we have been able to do our best.” Agbaje, however, added that the greatest lesson the Nigerian judiciary could learn from the South African court was that a lot still needed to be done in the criminal justice system.
“Nigeria is not really serious about combating the issue of terrorism; it is high time we learn our lesson from our brother country and start putting everything in place to fight this global crime called terrorism,” he said. Meanwhile, the leadership of the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, in Bayelsa State has urged Okah’s lawyer to appeal against the judgement.
The State Chairman of the organisation, Nengi James, who spoke to National Mirror yesterday in Yenagoa, argued that the Federal Government had not been pursuing the recent bombings and killings across the nation, unlike the vigour it exhibited on the October 1, 2010 bombing in Abuja. James said the matter was far belated, stressing that there was a conspiracy to nail Okah in the case.
Also, a rights activist and environmentalist in Niger Delta, Alagoa Morris, said that Okah’s arrest, detention and conviction had the support of the Federal Government.
However, South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark; the Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDPFV, Alhaji Mujarhedeen Asari-Dokubo and an ex-Ijaw militant Commander, Chief Government Ekpemukpolo, a.k.a. Tompolo, hailed the conviction. Clark said he was disappointed by the involvement of Okah in the attack on the country. “I am shocked and disappointed that Henry Okah masterminded the attack on the nation during the 50th independence anniversary in October 1, 2010.
I have no regret that he has been convicted by a court outside Nigeria. It is heartwarming that a court outside Nigeria has found him guilty of doing something wrong against his country.
“Henry Okah was being used by some disgruntled politicians to destabilize the country and overthrow the government of Goodluck Jonathan. His fate will serve as a lesson and deterrent to others who may be planning such unpatriotic action against their country,” Clark said.
Asari-Dokubo said: “As far as I am concerned, he deserved the sentence and even more for destroying the sanctity of our struggle. Our struggle was based on morality and not kidnapping, hijack and robbery.
“I don’t have any sympathy for him, everybody knows my position about Henry Okah and I cannot pretend today.” Tompolo, in his reaction through his Media Assistant, Paul Bebenimibo, described the fate of Henry Okah as unfortunate.
Tompolo, however, said that the law had to take its course. “It is unfortunate because he is a human being but the law has to take its course. It is sad that Henry Okah is being sentenced when his colleagues are enjoying the amnesty programme of the Federal Government in the region.
We pray that the South African authorities will mitigate the sentence to enable him to return to the country to live a normal life again if God permits,” Tompolo added.
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