Habeeb I. Pindiga, Sunday E. Benjamin & Kayode Ekundayo
10 July 2009
President Umaru Yar'adua has ordered the release of militant leader Henry Okah, who is currently standing trial for alleged gun-running and treason, after reports said Okah has accepted the president's offer of amnesty.
Okah is leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main militant group, whose attacks in the last six weeks have wreaked havoc on the nation's oil sector.
Presidential Spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said yesterday in a statement that the president, who is currently attending the G8 Summit in Italy, has instructed Attorney-General of the Federation Michael Aondoakaa to "tidy up" the legal processes for Okah's release.
Earlier yesterday, news agencies quoted one of Okah's lawyers Wilson Ajuwa as saying that the militant leader has accepted the president's offer of clemency.
Adeniyi said, "The President feels elated by the acceptance of amnesty offer by Mr Henry Okah and commends the role played by his lawyer, Mr Femi Falana in the entire process.
"Shortly before he left Abuja yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, the President mandated the AGF to work with Falana to tidy up the legal process so that Okah's release can be effected.
"President Yar'adua...also calls on the remaining militant leaders to avail themselves of the amnesty offer so as to pave the way for peace and rapid development in the Niger Delta for which he is strongly committed."
Reuters news agency quoted Ajuwa as saying: "They offered it to him yesterday. Okah welcomed the amnesty. We are in the process of finalising it. Hopefully, it will be resolved early next week."
Ajuwa later confirmed to Daily Trust by telephone that the militant leader had been offered the amnesty, though he could not specifically say if Okah has accepted the offer. "We are still (discussing) on it," he said. "We will be able to come out with an official position by Sunday or Monday."
Also, Falana, who is the lead counsel to Okah, told our reporter in Lagos that he could not confirm if Okah has accepted the clemency offer. He said he had not seen Okah since last Friday when they last met in court.
When asked for comments, Attorney General of the Federation Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) said: "I do not know anything about it now, you can find out from the National Security Adviser to the President."
If Okah is released, it would raise hopes that other militants would lay down their weapons in the Niger Delta, Reuters reported.
Yar'adua announced an amnesty programme for all Niger Delta militants last month, and extended the clemency offer to Okah with a promise to release him if he accepted.
A meeting between Okah's lawyers and government officials is expected on Sunday or Monday to finalise the terms of the amnesty and his release, a second Okah lawyer told Reuters.
Okah was arrested in Angola in September 2007 and extradited to Nigeria to face charges carrying a possible death penalty. They included supplying machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and bazookas to armed groups in the Niger Delta.
He has been on trial before the Federal High Court in Jos, and last Friday the court adjourned hearing in the case till July 24.
The militant's release has been one of the key demands from MEND.
A senior spokesman for MEND, General Boyloaf, confirmed to the BBC that if Henry Okah was set free, the organisation would lay down its arms, but added that the release was just one issue--and there were other issues to be settled in the region.
Even if militant leaders agree on paper to a ceasefire, there is little to stop splinter groups with speedboats and dynamite from attacking hundreds of kilometres of exposed pipeline or continuing abductions and ransom demands.
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