by Christopher Torchia / the Star Tribune
A MEND Rebel
JOHANNESBURG – A South African court sentenced a Nigerian to 24 years in prison on Tuesday after finding him guilty of masterminding twin car bombings in Nigeria.
Henry Okah was found guilty in January for the October 2010 bombing in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, that killed at least 12 people and wounded three dozen during a celebration to mark the country’s 50 years of independence.
The South African Press Association reported that Judge Neels Claassen of the High Court in Johannesburg announced Okah’s jail sentence, which includes 12 years in prison for each bombing and 13 years for threats made to the South African government after his October 2010 arrest. The 13 years will be served concurrently with the 24 years.
Okah was a leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, which claimed responsibility for the blasts.
The group accused Nigeria’s government of failing to alleviate poverty in the delta, even though it earns billions of dollars from the region’s oil. In 2006, militants from groups like MEND started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. Continue reading
EF! DAM
Ecodefense
