BEVERLY HILLS, CA, November 27, (THEWILL) – The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is upbeat that its leader, Henry Okah, who is standing trial in South Africa would get a fair hearing as his appeal application comes for hearing Thursday .
MEND’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, said on Wednesday that if Okah’s application sails through, the prison sentence passed on him a year ago could be reversed.
In a statement sent to THEWILL, Gbomo said; “On Thursday, November 28, 2013, at about 10:00Hrs South African time, a Guateng High Court with Judge Neels Claassen presiding, will hear and rule on the Leave to Appeal application by Mr. Henry Okah.
“If approved, the judge would have considered that the Appellate Court (South Africa’s Supreme Court) could rule differently for a reversible error for his unjust judgement about a year ago.
“But if maliciously denied by Judge Neels Claassen who is susceptible to Nigerian Government bribes and South African Government influence, Henry Okah’s ultimate goal will be the Constitutional Court where the Judges still have some integrity and less government influence and interference.”
Okah, according to the statement, is challenging the following:
“The Jurisdiction of the Court which admitted that there is a conflict in Nigeria between MEND and the Nigerian Government but has no jurisdiction to try the Nigerian Government for crimes against humanity, but has jurisdiction over the other party to the conflict which is absurd.
“A letter forged by the South African and Nigerian Governments which threatened the Republic of South Africa and purporting to have emanated from MEND, for which the blame was put on Henry Okah’s head. This forged letter was signed by one Peter Timi, and dated at a period Henry Okah was still remanded in prison custody. Yet, based on this obvious fabricated evidence, Henry Okah was slammed with an additional 12 years prison sentence.
“Fairness of the trial where the prosecutor presented over Forty (40) witnesses sponsored to South Africa by the Nigerian government, but frustrated all the defence’s witnesses from appearing for the defence insisting that a court order (which can be prolonged indefinitely) would be required for Henry Okah’s witnesses who where in prison custody .
A South African court had sentenced Okah , who was found guilty of 13 terrorism-related charges over twin car bombings during Nigeria’s Independence Day celebrations in 2010, to 24 years jail term . He also received a 13-year jail term for threats made to the South African Government after his arrest in October 2010 but this runs concurrently with his 24-year sentence.
The South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority said that it may appeal against the sentence on the grounds that the convict ought to have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The prosecutors have also argued that although Okah is not a South Africa citizen, the country had the jurisdiction to try him under the International Co-operation in Criminal Matters Act.
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