Nigeria: Alleged Bomber to Appear

Photo: Vanguard

Niger-Delta based militia group MEND claims credit for the bombing outside the Vanguard Amnesty Conference in Warri

The alleged plotter of the October 1st, 2010 bombings that claimed several lives and properties in Abuja, Mr. Henry Okah, will be appearing before a South Africa's court on Monday next week.

This appearance makes it two years that the sad and deadly event happened as Nigerians were preparing for the Independence day celeberation in Abuja.

South Africa's Chief Prosecutor, Shaun Abrahams had at the begining of October, 2010 requested for a two-year adjournment when he told the court that such adjournment would allow him and the police to do an undoubted investigation on the case.

After a long legal debate by both the prosecuting and defense teams, the Presiding Judge, Geraldine Borchers confirmed that the date, saying that demanding a two-year adjournment from the day of the crime was acceptable to the court.

The accused person is presently facing charges for being the brain behind two car bombings that happened and killed more than 10 people on the 1st October, 2010 in Abuja.

Apart from the people that lost their lives in the deadly incident, more than 30 other persons got several degrees of injuries.

Henry Okah, the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which claimed responsibility for the blasts, was however arrested by South African police detectives in Johannesburg on the 2nd of October, 2010 which was the following day to the crime.

He was charged with engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activity, and delivering, placing, and detonating an explosive device.

At Okah's last appearance on August 24 last year, Chief Prosecutor Abrahams said additional charges of terrorism and terror financing were being added to the charge sheet. These related to a bombing in Warri, Nigeria, on March 15, 2010.

To butteress his point, Prosecutor Abrahams presented a list of 103 witnesses he intended calling, many of them from Nigeria.

Some of these witnesses would also be called by the defence.

Okah, who remains in custody, was denied bail by the Supreme Court of Appeal on June 17, 2012 which was his third unsuccessful bid for bail.

Earlier, South African police investigators had said in an affidavit, read by the prosecutor at a bail hearing for Okah in a Johannesburg court, that he was "the mastermind" behind the blast but they could not reveal the evidence implicating Okah to protect their confidential sources.

But in a swift reaction, Okah, residing in South Africa and charged with conspiracy in the bombing, said in an affidavit read by his defence lawyer that he did not have "any involvement whatsoever with the bomb acts".

Security experts believe Okah, who had accepted a government amnesty after gun-running and treason charges against him were dropped, was at one time the brains behind MEND, although he has denied ever being its leader.

During their investigation, South Africa's Police searched Okah's home and found invoices for the purchase of thousands of submachine guns, rockets launchers and anti-aircraft machine guns, but did not find any firearms.

Apart from these, they also found that Okah and his wife own about 10 properties in South Africa valued at over $1 million.