An alleged Nigerian terror mastermind, Henry Okah has accused Nigerian government of being behind a bombing, in which he is standing trial, according to an application for bail made available yesterday.
In Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan’s office rejected accusations Henry Okah made in the request for bail in South Africa, where he was arrested and standing trial for bombings that killed 12 people during 2010 independence celebrations in Abuja.
Okah’s lawyer, Jacques van Greunen, said yesterday Okah’s bail request had been delivered to the prosecutor and would be filed with the court today. Nigerian media had reported earlier on the contents of the affidavit, apparently leaked by Okah from jail.
In the bail request, Okah argued he should be free on bail, pending trial because, he is innocent. Okah said Jonathan’s government orchestrated the bombing to eliminate a rival and to fan ethnic tensions for political gain.
In a statement issued last week, Jonathan’s spokesman, Reuben Abati said the president’s office affirmed that these allegations were false and without any factual foundation.” Abati did not elaborate, but said Jonathan’s government would have more to say to the South African court. The trial is set to start in October.
Okah has been jailed in South Africa since his arrest shortly after the October, 2010 bombings. He is charged under South African terror laws. Nigeria has not requested for his extradition.
A South African judge rejected an earlier bail request from Okah.
During earlier bail hearings, prosecutors presented evidence they said was drawn from Okah’s diaries and computer correspondence that they said bolstered accusations he masterminded the October bombings.
In his new request, Okah argued that the state’s assertions were not supported by its records of his phone calls and messages and e-mails.
Nigerian officials said Okah led the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which he denied.
Okah alleged in his latest bail application that Jonathan’s government worked with a faction of MEND to launch the attack, and had planned to blame it on northern militants. Okah alleged that plot was derailed when another MEND faction claimed responsibility for the bombings.
MEND accused Nigeria’s government of failing to alleviate poverty in the Niger Delta, though Nigeria earns billions of dollars from the region’s oil. MEND had issued statements threatening to attack South African interests in Nigeria because of Okah’s arrest and prosecution.
Okah claimed in his bail request that he has focused on development in the Niger Delta, and had worked closely with Jonathan. Okah claimed Jonathan had sought an alliance with him against northern politicians.
