Breaking: South African Court Finds Henry Okah Guilty for Oct 1 Abuja Car Bombing
A South African court has found Nigerian militant Henry Okah guilty of masterminding the 2010 car bombing which killed 12 people.
Okah was convicted of 13 counts related to acts of terrorism.
He was arrested in Johannesburg a day after two car bombs exploded during the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence.
He had denied the charges and militant group Mend said it had carried out the attack.
Okah has always denied being Mend’s leader.
Johannesburg High Court Judge Neels Claassen convicted Okah on charges ranging from conspiracy to commit terrorism to detonating explosives.
“I have come to the conclusion that the state proved beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused,” Judge Claassen said, AFP news agency reports.
Prosecutor Shaun Abrahams told AP news agency that Okah faced life in prison.
South Africa worked closely with foreign law enforcement agencies “to make sure justice is done in Africa,” he said.
Henry Okah
Grew up in wealthy Lagos family
1990s: Sold guns in Lagos
2003: Moved to South Africa
Seen as man behind Mend’s media-savvy e-mail strategy
2007: Arrested on gun-running charges in Angola
2008: Extradited to Nigeria
2009: Freed under amnesty the day after Mend staged first attack on Lagos
2010: Charged in South Africa over Abuja car bombing
2013: Convicted in South Africa on 13 counts of terrorism-related charges
“This [conviction] is clearly indicative that South Africa cannot be seen as a safe haven for international terrorists,” Mr Abrahams said.
Okah was arrested on gun-running charges in Angola in 2007 and then transferred to Nigeria but never convicted.
He was released after two years under an amnesty for oil militants and he returned to South Africa, where he had lived since 2003.
- BBC
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