Date Published: 07/14/09

MEND bombs Atlas Cove as Okah says no assurance of ceasefire

The armed conflict in the Niger Delta spilled out of the region for the first time yesterday when the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on the Atlas Cove jetty in Lagos. Five people were reported killed in the attack. Atlas Cove is a key port where vessels offload gasoline, diesel and other refined products for use all over Nigeria, and there were fears it could affect fuel supply in the country.

Yesterday’s attack came just as MEND’s leader Henry Okah was released from a Jos prison after the Federal Government withdrew the case it instituted against him. Attorney General and Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa personally appeared before Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court in Jos to enter a “nolle prosequi” on behalf of the Federal Government to discontinue the case.

Claiming responsibility for the jetty attack, MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in an email, “Heavily armed MEND fighters Sunday, July 12, 2009 at about 22:30 hrs carried out an unprecedented attack on the Atlas Cove jetty in Lagos. The depot and loading tankers moored at the facility are currently on fire”.   It said the attack was part of its two-pronged approach of combining dialogue and intensifying attacks throughout the course of negotiations. MEND however said it would put together a team of negotiators after due consultations with stakeholders.

Gbomo said militant commanders and Henry Okah must be present when it presents its demands to the president through the Timi Alaibe-led delegation. “We want to assure our people and well wishers that we will not sell our birthright for a bowl of porridge because we are not committed to anyone but the people of the Niger Delta. President Obama’s candour has energized our movement and renewed our conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice. Because our fight for justice is happening in a country with a fraudulent electoral process, corrupt leadership, we feel vindicated,” he said.

MEND leader Okah walked away from the Jos courtroom even as news of the Lagos attack filtered in. he had been on trial since his arrest in Angola in September 2007, after the Federal Government slammed a 62 count charge on him ranging from treason to gun running. Hearing on the matter had earlier been slated for the 17th of this month but was brought forward to yesterday when Okah indicated readiness to accept the amnesty granted to militants of the Niger Delta who were ready to surrender their arms.

Aondaokaa told the court that since President Umaru Yar’adua had decided to grant amnesty to Niger Delta militants in order to find an amicable solution to the problem in the region, he would enter a “nolle prosequi” against Okah and urged that the case be withdrawn.

But lead counsel to Okah, Femi Falana said while he and his client welcomed the idea, they would have been more comfortable if section 175 subsection 1(a) of the constitution of the Federal Republic was invoked instead of section 174 to grant his client pardon as was stipulated in the constitution.

“The president has made a proclamation of amnesty which has been extended to my client by the Attorney General but it would have been better captured under 175 1(a) of the constitution. There is no amnesty in the constitution, but there’s prerogative of mercy,” Falana said.

But Aonodakaa stood his ground, saying as Attorney General, he had the powers to withdraw the case based on the sections he earlier cited and assured Falana that he was a man of honour who would not go back on his word, unless there was a breach in the agreement.

The Attorney General added that he was a man of peace and that he was also convinced that Okah was a man of peace, saying Falana should have no problem embracing the process that he believed would lead to peace in the region.

Justice Liman who ruled on the matter, agreed with Aondokaa that the Attorney General could exercise his powers as captured in section 174 c of the constitution, saying 175 was outside the powers of the Attorney General. He said once a “nolle prosequi” was entered, it meant that the prosecution had been terminated and he granted the prayers of the Attorney General.

Speaking to newsmen after the hearing, Okah, who was decked in blue jeans and blue striped T-shirt, when asked if his release would bring an end to the violence in the Niger Delta, said he was just one man and that he would need to go back to the Niger Delta first.

When asked if he considered himself a militant, he retorted, “Do I look like a militant?” Aondoakaa told newsmen that there were no loose ends as far as Okah’s release was concerned since “the accused person has agreed to work with the Federal Government and he is now a free man.”