The detained 'leader' of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta [MEND] Mr. Henry Okah instructed his accomplices to purchase in Lagos the two vehicles that were subsequently used for the detonation of two vehicle-improvised explosive devices in Abuja on October 1, a South African court was told yesterday. The Republic of South Africa had reopened its case against Okah early yesterday following a ruling by the Presiding Magistrate in the case, Hein Louw, who said he needed “something substantial” before he could come to a decision concerning Mr. Okah’s bail application.
Consequently, prosecution lawyer Shaun Abrahams read a supplementary affidavit signed by the Police Services Officer in charge of the investigation, Lt Col Noel Graeme Zeeman.
In the affidavit, Zeeman said Okah had been in contact with the people who had detonated the twin car bombs in Nigeria.
“Prior to the detonation of the two improvised explosive devices on 1 October in Abuja, two vehicles, namely a Honda and a Mazda 626, were purchased in Lagos on the instruction of the accused, by persons complicit in the crime,” Abrahams said.
The cars were loaded with dynamite and parked on a road near a prominent hotel in Abuja, where Independence Day celebrations were taking place. Twelve people were killed and 36 others injured in the explosions.
According to the affidavit, the explosions took place under the supervision of Chima Orlu, who is said to have acted on the instructions of Okah. Orlu’s telephone records show that he had been in contact with Okah on numerous occasions leading up to October 1. Okah is said to have sent text messages to Orlu on 30 September 2010 at 12h 38:11pm, and on October 1 at 6h 02:39am, 7h 40: 20am, 7h 41:22am and at 7h 41:35 am.
Policeman Zeeman’s statement also said, “Of greater significance is that Mr. Orlu sent an SMS to Mr. Okah at precisely 10h 58:59 am on 1 October, 13h 13:01am and 13h 29:59pm on the same day.” Orlu allegedly sent an SMS reading: “Done, tell them to leave”, which was said to have been forwarded to Okah on the day of the October 1 attacks.
Okah and his lawyer Rudi Krause appeared shocked when State prosecutor Shaun Abrahams produced an affidavit alleging that Okah had instructed his alleged co-conspirators to buy the two cars used in the bombings. Krause asked the State to supply him with copies of cell phone records used as evidence to link the 45-year-old father of four to the Independence Day car bombs.
“The defence wants access to the cell phone records and text messages,” Krause submitted to magistrate Hein Louw. He applied to the court to allow him to get copies of the records that the prosecution provided as evidence that Okah was the “mastermind” of the October 1 attacks.
This follows Wednesday’s submissions by Krause, challenging the State to produce a “shred of evidence” linking the former marine engineer to the blast. Okah maintained that he was innocent and denied having had contact with Orlu.
“The evidence presented by the State is vague and lacks particularity,” Okah declared in a responding affidavit submitted to the court. He alleged that the evidence might have been fabricated by either the Nigerian government or their South African counterparts.
Abrahams opposed this application, saying it would be allowing Okah’s lawyers to “peek over the investigation”. The State also alleged that Okah’s brother, arrested in Abuja on Saturday, was also involved in the blast.
It also alleged that Okah, under the alias Jomo Gbomo, was the sender of an email warning about the attacks. The State said it had found notes in his diary on high calibre weapons, which matched those listed in quotation confiscated from his home in Mondeor, south of Johannesburg on October 2.
A letter in which Okah’s wife, Azuka Okah, refers to him as the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta was also circumstantial evidence that he was still an active commander of the militia group. However the defence denied that Azuka Okah was the author of the letter and that she had downloaded it on the internet.
A self-confessed war expert, Okah was being investigated for money laundering and weapons proliferation by South African police. Okah was also being investigated by the Home Affairs Department for fraud relating to his application for South African citizenship. Abrahams said that in his application for residency in the country, Okah had given the department fraudulent documents.
The bail hearing was then adjourned until today. The VOA correspondent in Johannesburg said, “This bail hearing, which is now…a week long, is basically because Mr. Okah has some very good lawyers, who are questioning the prosecution on everything. The prosecution wants to deny bail, saying that he could run away, leave the country and also could intimidate possible witnesses.”
“Henry Okah is a successful businessman. He owns a security company in Johannesburg. (He) came here, appealed for asylum, was granted asylum on the basis of his ties to the Niger Delta and did eventually obtain citizenship.” However, “The (South African) Department of Home Affairs says it’s investigating this, saying he possibly used fraudulent documents to obtain this citizenship.”
Meanwhile, in Abuja, Henry Okah’s brother Charles Okah and four other suspects were charged to court yesterday, although newsmen and even their defence lawyer were shut out of the court for security reasons.
Among the suspects in court was Charles Okah’s son Boloebi. Men of the State Security Service threw a security cordon around the court at Wuse Zone 6 and did not allow anyone to get near the suspects.
Charles Okah’s lawyer Ogheneovo Otemu told the BBC that “The accused persons were arraigned before the court and they were not allowed to be represented by counsels of their choice, which is a very serious constitutional breach.” He said the charge sheet showed they are being accused of engaging in criminal conspiracy to commit a felony and a crime bordering on murder - punishable by life imprisonment.
After a 15-minute hearing, the suspects emerged from the courtroom, closely guarded by security agents, he says,
They were not allowed to speak to anyone and they were hurriedly bundled back into the vehicles and driven away. The men are due back in court on 24 November.
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