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Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria: State Successful in Henry Okah Case As Sentence, Convictions Reinstated

2018-02-25

[All Africa] Convicted terrorist Henry Okah ...who has appeared in our archives from time to time over the years ... 's 24-year prison sentence and convictions have been reinstated after the Constitutional Court on Friday set aside the Supreme Court of Appeal's order overturning the Warri bombing convictions, which led to a reduction in his sentence. Okah was originally sentenced in March 2013 in the South Gauteng High Court after being convicted on 13 counts of terrorism, including engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activities, and delivering, placing and detonating an bomb, relating to two boom-mobiles detonated in Abuja, Nigeria, on October 1, 2010, the anniversary of the country's independence. Twelve people were killed and 36 were maimed. One person was killed and 11 seriously injured in another bombing in Warri on March 15, 2010, at a post-amnesty dialogue meeting. In both bombings, two boom-mobiles went off minutes apart. The cars were parked in close proximity to each other, News24 reported at the time. Okah, a Nigerian citizen who has been a permanent resident in South Africa since 2007, was found to be the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ... a confederation of bands of bandidos portraying itself of a political organization grabbing for Nigeria's oil boodle ... and was convicted for terrorist acts under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act. Their last significant pronouncement was a threat in 2013 to bomb Muslim institutions and kill Muslim clerics, but nothing seems to have come of it.

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Africa Subsaharan

Militants in Nigeria’s oil-rich delta slam president

2017-01-03

[AA.TR] Nigeria’s peace drive in the oil-rich delta region suffered a major setback on Sunday night when a key krazed killer group slammed President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly stalling the grinding of the peace processor. In a statement, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ... a confederation of bands of bandidos portraying itself of a political organization grabbing for Nigeria's oil boodle ... (MEND) -- an influential krazed killer group -- said Buhari’s "arrogant" posturing had affected the region and blamed him for failing to honor previous agreements. "Prior to and after his reluctant meeting with traditional rulers, opinion leaders and stakeholders of the Niger Delta region under the auspices of Pan Niger Delta Forum [PANDEF] on Nov. 1, 2016, Buhari has been carrying on arrogantly and making controversial, prejudicial, conflicting and contradictory statements about the politics and economy of the oil-rich region," the statement quoting a front man for the movement, Jomo Gbomo, said. "Without prejudice to the pre-2015 presidential election endorsement freely and voluntarily given to Buhari on Jan. 6, 2015, MEND hereby categorically and unequivocally passes a vote of no confidence on the government of President Buhari," Gbomo added. The group accused the president of "blackmailing" leaders from the region over the peace talks and accused the administration of not forming its own team to interact with stakeholders from the oil-rich region. It also accused the president of reneging on his pledge to facilitate the release of all political prisoners connected to the agitation in the region, while also allegedly sanctioning the arrest of top krazed killers. The presidency has not reacted to the development yet which threatens the fragile peace in the area. MEND, whose leaders Henry Okah and others are standing trial for alleged bombings of government infrastructure, has been said to be a key ally of Buhari from the region. Former President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau.Other than that he's pretty useless as the Boko Haram debacle shows.. also hails from the region.

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Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria’s MEND Issues Threat to Bomb Mosques, Kill Clerics

2013-04-14

Nigeria’s Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it will start a bombing campaign against mosques and Islamic institutions, a week after the rebel group said it killed 15 security personnel in the southern oil-producing Bayelsa state. “The bombings of mosques, haj camps, Islamic institutions, large congregations in Islamic events and assassinations of clerics that propagate doctrines of hate will form the core mission of this crusade,” MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in an e-mailed statement today. The campaign, codenamed “Barbarossa,” will start May 31, it said. MEND may consider a cease-fire if the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Catholic Church and the group’s suspected leader Henry Okah intervene, according to the statement. The threat comes as the government of President Goodluck Jonathan battles Islamist militants in the mainly Muslim north and the capital, Abuja, in which hundreds of people have died since 2009. MEND, the main rebel group in the the area, destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell Plc oil well in Nembe in southern Bayelsa state yesterday as part of an operation it calls “Hurricane Exodus,” Gbomo said. Precious Okolobo, a Lagos-based spokesman for Shell’s Nigerian unit, said he couldn’t confirm the attack when contacted by phone today. Claimed Attack MEND said April 3 it would resume attacks in Africa’s largest oil producer after Okah was sentenced last month to 24 years in prison in South Africa. He was found guilty of 13 counts of terrorism, including a bombing claimed by MEND in which 12 people died in Abuja on Oct. 1, 2010. On April 10, Nigerian authorities recovered 10 bodies of policemen killed four days earlier in an attack on a boat by gunmen in the oil-rich Niger River delta, Bayelsa state Police Commissioner Kingsley Omire said. Three policemen and the boat driver jumped in the river in the southern state when gunmen opened fire and were later rescued, Omire said. The attack was claimed by MEND, which said it killed all 15 people aboard. Shell, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA run joint ventures with state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. that pump most of the country’s oil. Nigeria depends on crude exports for more than 95 percent of foreign income and 80 percent of government revenue, according to the Petroleum Ministry. While Okah denies being a leader of MEND, he has said he commands the support of many armed factions in Nigeria’s oil region.

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Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria's MEND Says It Killed 15 Security Personnel in Fight

2013-04-08

[BLOOMBERG] "All oil companies and the public are advised to ignore the false sense of security," portrayed by the security agencies, Gbomo said. "We remain resolute in our resumption of hostilities." The attack comes after MEND warned on April 3 they would resume their operations in Africa's largest oil producer on April 5 after their suspected leader, Henry Okah, was sentenced to 24 years in prison in South Africa. The Nigerian military is on "red alert" in the region following the threat, Chris Olukolade, a Defense Ministry front man, said in an e-mailed statement. The Joint Task Force in the region is also on alert, he said in a text message in response to questions. "Maritime and air assets have also been mobilized and patrols intensified both on land and waterways," Olukolade said. The rebel group will start to carry out "a plague of attacks," Gbomo said last week. "The attacks will be sustained until an unreserved apology is offered to MEND and the Nigerian government shows their willingness for dialogue." Boat Attacked Bayelsa state police front man Kingsley Omire said today 11 coppers were still missing after unknown gunnies opened fire when they were on a boat heading to Azuzuama on April 5. The boat was carrying 15 coppers and four of the coppers jumped into the river and were rescued, he said. Omire said it was too early to identify the attackers. A South African court sentenced Okah to 24 years in jail after he was found guilty of 13 counts of terrorism, including a bombing that killed 12 people in the capital, Abuja, on Oct. 1, 2010. MEND claimed the attack. While Okah denies he leads the group, he has said he commands the support of many armed factions in Nigeria's oil region. Attacks including kidnappings and bombing of oil installations by groups including MEND cut more than 28 percent of Nigeria's oil output between 2006 and 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The violence declined after thousands of fighters accepted a government amnesty offer in 2009 and disarmed.

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Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria: MEND Threatens 'Hell' Over Okah's Jail As Keyamo Condemns Judgement

2013-03-27

The armed militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, on Tuesday condemned the 24-year jail term passed on its leader, Henry Okah, by the South African High Court over charges that he masterminded a series of terrorism incidents, including the October 1, 2010 twin bombings in Abuja. The group threatened 'hell' over the conviction of Mr. Okah. Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, has also condemned the trial and conviction of Mr. Okah, describing the sentence by the South African court as "totally flawed." Justice Neels Claaseen of the High Court in South Gauteng in South Africa on Tuesday sentenced Mr. Okah to 24 years in prison after finding him guilty on 13 terrorism charges, including the Abuja bombing in which a dozen persons were killed as Nigeria was celebrating its 50th independence anniversary. According to Mr. Claassen, during the trial Mr. Okah showed little remorse for his crime. He also pointed out that Mr. Okah's intentions in the bombing incidents were to "obtain maximum casualties." "Effectively, the accused Okah is therefore sentenced to 24 years imprisonment," Mr. Claassen said.

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Africa Subsaharan

South African court jails Henry Okah for 24 years

2013-03-27

[Guardian Ng] NIGERIAN krazed killer Henry Okah who has been found guilty of 13 terrorism-related charges over twin boom-mobileings during the country's Independence Day in 2010 is to spend 24 years in jail. The verdict was given Tuesday by a South African court. At least 12 people were killed and 36 others injured during the bombings. Okah led a group, which said it was fighting to help Niger Delta residents gain a greater share of the oil wealth from their part of southern Nigeria. According to a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report, the court established that Okah is the former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ... a confederation of bands of bandidos portraying itself of a political organization grabbing for Nigeria's oil boodle ... (MEND). He also received a 13-year jail term for threats made to the South African government after his arrest in October 2010 but this runs concurrently with his 24-year sentence. The judge found that the state had proven Okah's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt because he didn't testify in his own defence during the trial. He had repeatedly denied any involvement in the bombings. Prosecutors have argued that although Okah is not a South African citizen, the country had the jurisdiction to try him under the International Co-operation in Criminal Matters Act. Analysts believe it would have been too dangerous for him to be tried in Nigeria because of the presence of his krazed killer supporters.

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Africa Subsaharan

S.Africa: Nigerian 2010 bomb suspect gets 24 years

2013-03-26

A South African court sentenced a Nigerian to 24 years in prison on Tuesday after finding him guilty of masterminding twin car bombings in Nigeria. Henry Okah was found guilty in January for the October 2010 bombing in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, that killed at least 12 people and wounded three dozen during a celebration to mark the country's 50 years of independence. The South African Press Association reported that Judge Neels Claassen of the High Court in Johannesburg announced Okah's jail sentence, which includes 12 years in prison for each bombing and 13 years for threats made to the South African government after his October 2010 arrest. The 13 years will be served concurrently with the 24 years. Okah was a leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, which claimed responsibility for the blasts. The group accused Nigeria's government of failing to alleviate poverty in the delta, even though it earns billions of dollars from the region's oil. In 2006, militants from groups like MEND started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. When Okah was convicted, Judge Claassen had said the state had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and the Nigerian's failure to testify meant the evidence was uncontested. Okah was found guilty on 13 counts of terrorism.

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Africa Subsaharan

South African court convicts Nigerian terrorist

2013-01-21

A South African court found suspected Niger Delta militant leader Henry Okah guilty of terrorism on Monday for his role in two car bombs that killed at least 10 people in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, at an independence day ceremony in 2010. Judge Neels Claassen said Okah, who was charged with leading the militant MEND group in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region, was found guilty on 13 counts ranging from conspiracy to commit terrorism to detonating explosives. Claassen told the court, "The evidence that was given by his accomplices was not contradicted." MEND, or the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, carried out a number of attacks on oilfields and pipelines across the region, which is home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, until a government amnesty in 2009. Security experts think Okah - who accepted the 2009 amnesty after gun-running and treason charges against him were dropped - was at one time the mastermind behind MEND although he has denied ever being its leader. The 2010 explosions hit the official celebrations laid on in Abuja for Nigeria's 50th anniversary of independence.

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Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria arrests 'rebel's' brother

2010-10-18

[Al Jazeera] Nigerian security forces have arrested the brother of Henry Okah, a former leader of the rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), over his suspected involvement in deadly bombings in Abuja, the capital, on October 1. Charles Okah was taken into custody at his home in the southern city of Lagos on Sunday. He has been accused of helping to fund the twin car bombings that struck during independence anniversary celebrations in Abuja. Henry Okah is alleged to have masterminded the attack that left 12 people dead and dozens of others injured. Al Jazeera's Ama Boateng, reporting from the capital, confirmed that Okah had been arrested. Boateng said: "We can confirm that Charles Okah, Henry Okah's brother, was arrested on Saturday afternoon in Lagos. "This is in connection with the bombings in Abuja." A government official said that Charles Okah was mentioned by suspects as a source of funds for the Abuja blasts. "He is with us in Abuja," the official, who chose to remain anonymous, told reporters. The arrest comes a day after a warning, signed Jomo Gbomo, the pseudonym used to claim the independence day blasts and years of attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta, was emailed to media saying that another bombing was planned for Abuja.

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Africa Subsaharan

Ex-Mend leader implicates Nigeria

2010-10-06

[Al Jazeera] The former leader of Nigeria's armed group has said he was jugged because he refused to tell the group to retract a statement claiming responsibility for last week's deadly attacks in the capital, Abuja. Henry Okah, currently being held in jail in South Africa, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that he received a phone call from a "close associate" of Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president, telling him to urge the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) to withdraw its claim for the bombings, which killed at least 10 people and left 36 others injured on the 50th anniversay of Nigeria's independence. "On Saturday morning, just a day after the attack, a very close associate of President Jonathan called me and explained to me that there had been a bombing in Nigeria and that President Jonathan wanted me to reach out to the group, Mend, and get them to retract the earlier statement they had issued claiming the attacks," Okah said. "They wanted to blame the attacks on northerners who are trying to fight against him [Jonathan] to come back as president and if this was done, I was not going to have any problems with the South African government. "I declined to do this and a few hours later I was jugged. It was based on their belief that I was going to do that that Jonathan issued a statement saying that Mend did not carry out the attack." 'Unpatriotic elements' Jonathan, who hails from the country's south and has declared his intentions to stand in next year's presidential election, said investigations had revealed Mend, which is fighting for a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth, knew nothing about the attacks. He said the bombings had been carried out by a small group based outside Nigeria, sponsored by "unpatriotic elements within the country". Nigeria will be holding elections in January almost a year after Jonathan assumed the presidency after the incumbent president failed to complete his term due to illness and eventual death. Jonathan's predecessor, Umaru Yaradua, came from the northern state of Katsina and Nigeria has an unwritten agreement for the presidency to alternate between the mainly Mohammedan north and the largely Christian south. Al Jazeera did not get any immediate reaction from the Nigerian government about Okah's claims. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... the authorities have released nine people they jugged in connection with the kabooms on Monday, including an aide for Ibrahim Babangida, the country's former military leader. Raymond Dokpesi, the director of Babandida's campaign to become the ruling party presidential candidate, was questioned by the country's intelligence services over the blasts, an aide said on Tuesday. Dokpesi, who also owns one of Nigeria's leading television and radio stations, was summoned to the State Security Services (SSS) on Monday, Kassim Afegbua, a front man for Babangida, told the AFP news agency. "He was released yesterday and is to report back today at about 3'oclock (1400 GMT)," Afegbua said. "They said it is to do with complicity in the bomb incident of October 1." Several media reports on Tuesday said text messages found on the mobile phone of one of the nine suspects jugged by the state secret police led to the summoning of Dokpesi.

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Africa Subsaharan

'Foreigners behind Abuja bombings'

2010-10-05

[Iran Press TV] The Nigerian president has stated that a foreign-based terrorist group is to blame for Friday's bomb attacks in Abuja and not the snuffy group MEND. President Goodluck Jonathan said on Sunday, "It is a small terrorist group that resides outside Nigeria that was paid by some people within to perpetrate the dastardly act," according to a statement from his office. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had allegedly grabbed credit for the attacks, but Jonathan explained "there was a statement purported to have been written by MEND, but investigations show that members of MEND have said they don't know about it." Henry Okah, a former leader of MEND was jugged in South Africa in connection with the bombings on Saturday. At least 12 people were killed in Abuja on Friday when two car bombs blew up during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Nigeria's independence. The snuffy group MEND -- which is responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of OPEC member Nigeria's oil output -- has targeted foreign oil companies, bombed pipelines, and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers in the south since 2006. The group hopes to secure a greater share of oil wealth for people in the Niger Delta, where more than 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.

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Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria: Ex-militant leader arrested over bombings

2010-10-03

[Arab News] South African authorities have jugged an ex-leader of a Islamic exemplar group that grabbed credit for a dual car bombing that killed 12 people in Nigeria, a Nigerian secret police spokeswoman said Saturday. The arrest of Henry Okah, a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, came as Nigeria's secretive State Security Service acknowledged it received a warning about the impending attack long before the bombs exploded Friday. Nonetheless, the Islamic exemplar group was still able to detonate the explosives only a 10-minute walk away from a ceremony in Nigeria's capital Abuja attended by the president and other dignitaries in the oil-rich nation. "Unfortunately, there's no way security can be 100 percent foolproof," State Security Service spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "We are happy all the same that the event went on smoothly and it wasn't interrupted." Ogar said a "foreign partner" provided her agency with information of an impending attack on the 50th anniversary celebrations. That information apparently involved Okah, a former Islamic exemplar leader who left Nigeria for Johannesburg after being released from prison in July 2009 while facing treason and gun running charges. A day before the bombings, security agencies in South Africa raided Okah's home and seized a laptop, though they did not arrest him, the Islamic exemplar group previously said. It was unclear Saturday night if Okah faced any charges in South Africa. South Africa police spokeswoman Tumi Shai said police would have no comment on the matter for now, and referred queries to the Nigerian government. Saul Molobi, a front man for the foreign affairs ministry, also refused comment. Ogar declined to elaborate on what evidence her agency had, saying officers continued to investigate the bombings. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, also known by the acronym MEND, issued a warning to journalists about an hour before the attacks Friday, telling people to stay away from festivities at Eagle Square in Abuja. It blamed Nigeria's government for doing nothing to end the unceasing poverty in the delta as the nation receives billions of dollars from oil revenue. One car bomb exploded, drawing police, firefighters and the curious to the street near a federal courthouse. Five minutes later, a second car bomb exploded, apparently intended to target those drawn to the scene. A third, smaller kaboom struck inside Eagle Square during the ceremony, apparently injuring one security officer. However, The infamous However... MEND has denied placing any explosives inside the venue. In a statement Saturday night to the AP, MEND said it "deeply regrets the avoidable loss of lives." It also said Nigerian authorities "were given five days prior notice" to the attack. The group did not explain how officials received that notice. "Okah has never been involved in any MEND operations but has always been blamed for every attack which is strange to us," the MEND statement read. Saturday, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan visited a hospital where doctors cared for some of those injured in the blasts. Jonathan, who himself is from the oil-rich and restive southern delta, told gathered news hounds that he went to school only a few kilometers (miles) away from where Royal Dutch Shell PLC drilled the nation's first oil well. He criticized the bombers for using the struggles of his homeland to "camouflage criminality." "This is the first time somebody from the Niger Delta has the opportunity to be president of this country. ... You have your own here, you should have hope," Jonathan said. "Good things don't happen overnight." Jonathan also acknowledged that there were "security lapses" that allowed the bombing, but declined to offer any specific plan to overhaul security agencies in the nation of 150 million people. MEND has destroyed oil pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company workers and fought government troops since 2006. Violence in the delta drastically subsided after a government-sponsored amnesty deal last year provided cash for fighters and the promise of job training. However, The infamous However... many ex-fighters now complain that the government has failed to fulfill its promises. The Islamic exemplar group appeared to splinter over the amnesty program, though it proved its operational abilities in March when it detonated two car bombs near a government building in the Niger Delta where officials were discussing the deal. The blasts maimed two people in an attack heard live on television. The group also used car bombs in several attacks in 2006 that killed at least two people. Nigeria, which is vying with Angola to be Africa's top supplier of crude oil, is a major supplier to the US Violence in the delta can increase global oil prices drastically.

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