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Mend's Okah faces death penalty



By Upstream staff 

Nigeria has charged Henry Okah, suspected leader of the rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), with treason, a crime which is punishable by death, the country's director of public prosecutions Salihu Aliyu said today.

Mend was behind a wave of attacks on the Nigerian oil industry in early 2006 that forced the closure of a fifth of oil output from the country, contributing to the surge in oil prices on international markets.

Okah, a Nigerian, was arrested in Angola in September and handed over to Nigeria on 14 February. He has not been seen in public since his return, which has raised tensions in the delta.

An associate arrested and handed over at the same time, Edward Atatah, faces some of the same charges as Okah, a Reuters report said.

Mend's attacks subsided markedly last year and Delta activists say the government's decision to detain and prosecute Okah is not helping tentative peace talks launched last year.

Aliyu released to journalists a 14-count charge sheet against Okah. He said the main offence was treason and if convicted Okah could face death.

In the first count, Okah and Atatah are accused of conspiring with others "with intent to levy war and overawe the legitimate government of Nigeria".

The second count alleges that Okah and Atatah's trip to Angola was to buy a ship for use in arms smuggling to the Niger Delta. The men's lawyers had previously said they were thinking of buying a trawler and had no criminal intent.

The other charges all relate to the smuggling or illegal possession of huge quantities of weapons and all but one are directed at Okah alone.

The charge sheet lists arms shipments alleged to have been provided to armed groups in the delta, including Mend, such as "250,000 assault rifles, general purpose machine guns, rocket propelled launchers/canisters, bazookas and assorted ammunition".

An appendix says Okah "openly advocated armed struggle in the Niger Delta" and that he "exploited the crisis in the region to enrich himself".

Some of the details contained in the charges are very similar to accusations levelled at Okah last year by Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, a prominent delta militia leader, Reuters said.

Asari alleged that Okah had supplied arms to his Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF) but they had later fallen out.

The NDPVF, along with other well-known delta groups, was named as a recipient of Okah's shipments in the charge sheet.

Asari was arrested and charged with treason in 2005. he spent 18 months in detention until he was freed in a political decision after a change of government last May.

Asari's arrest was one of the factors that spawned Mend and caused an upsurge of violence in the delta in 2006. In its early days, Mend would cite Asari's release as one of its demands after every attack.


Wednesday, 05 March, 2008, 14:27 GMT  | last updated: Wednesday, 05 March, 2008, 14:27 GMT

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