Henry Okah Masterminded Independence Day Bombings, MEND Member Tells Court

Another prosecution witness
yesterday said Henry Okah gave
instructions for the Oct. 1, 2010, twin
car bombings in Abuja.
The witness said he is a member of
the Movement for the Emancipation
of Niger Delta (MEND), having joined
the group in 2006.
The third prosecution witness, who
simply introduced himself as Stanley
at the ongoing trial of Okah at the
South Gauteng High Court in
Johannesburg, South Africa, said Okah
gave instruction for the attacks in
Abuja during the independence
anniversary celebrations.
Stanley told the court that he was
introduced to Okah in 2006 and was
instructed to always refer to Okah as
“Master’’.
“I overhead Okah on numerous
occasions discussing the purchase of
weapons, and in 2007 he contacted
me asking me to pass a message to
the other leaders to do whatever it
takes to get him out of jail
“His wife, Azuka also devised a plan to
kidnap the Angolan Ambassador in
Nigeria to bargain for his release,’’
Stanley said.
He said in January 2010, Okah
instructed him to get an empty
apartment he wanted to use to
assemble car bombs.
Answering Prosecutor’s question
about whether he has knowledge of
the October bombing, he said he
knew about it two days before it
happened.
“A friend, Raphael Danfebo, told me
Okah wanted to carry out the terror
attack and gave instructions for two
cars to be sent to Abuja on Oct. 1,’’
Stanley said.
Okah is facing 13 counts charge of
terrorism, planning and financing car
explosions. The trail continues