Detained militant leader 'OK'

2008-03-10 10:01

Abuja - A brother of an imprisoned Nigerian militant leader said authorities allowed him to visit the detainee on Saturday and that the man accused of gunrunning and treason did not appear to have been harmed.

The brother of alleged arms dealer and treason suspect Henry Okah said Nigerian authorities finally granted long-promised access to the man, who had not been seen publicly since his extradition back to Nigeria from Angola last month.

Okah did not appear to have been harmed, said his brother, Charles Okah. "He's OK," Okah said after the first known meeting between the detainee and a member of his family or defence team.

Henry Okah's reputed militant group has threatened further chaos in the southern oil region if Okah is harmed while in prison. Neither Okah's lawyer nor the militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta were immediately available for comment.

Okah risks mistreatment

London-based rights group Amnesty International had called on Nigeria to allow Okah's lawyers to see their client, as promised in recent weeks. Amnesty said Okah risked mistreatment while in prison awaiting trial on 14 charges, including gunrunning, treason and terrorism.

He faced the death penalty if convicted. The militants, who claimed him as a leader, said he was innocent. Okah was arrested last year in Angola on suspected gunrunning charges and extradited back to Nigeria in February.

The militants had made Okah's release one of their conditions for ending attacks on oil infrastructure and workers. But their activities continued even after the government met their demands for the liberation of other leaders.

Stepped-up militant and criminal activities in the southern oil-producing region over the past two years had cut nearly 20% of Nigeria's normal crude output, helping send oil prices to historical highs. MEND was the main force behind the upsurge of violence.

Militants said they were fighting to force the federal government to send more oil funds to the deeply poor south, but criminality and militancy were closely intertwined in the Niger Delta.

The militants' struggle was believed to be financed largely by the theft and resale of black-market oil stolen from the pipelines crisscrossing the region.

- AP