Charges dropped against rebel

2008-05-03 19:14

Lagos - Nigeria has dropped treason charges against one of two accused rebel leaders in the country's main oil producing region, but a bid to have an open trial for the remaining suspect was rejected, their lawyer said.

"The trial judge rejected our application that the trial should be open. We are going to appeal the ruling," lawyer Femi Falani told AFP.

Henry Okah and Edward Atatah have been on trial for treason, terrorism, illegal possession of firearms and arms trafficking in a federal high court in the central city of Jos, he said. Those found guilty of treason in Nigeria can get the death penalty.

Charges against Atatah have been dropped however, Falani said.

Both are alleged to be members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), Nigeria's most prominent armed group, which has caused severe disruption to oil production in the Delta region.

Falana said charges against Atatah were dropped during a hearing on Friday but that he was not immediately released.

The trial took place amid heavy security and journalists were not allowed to cover proceedings but Judge Stephen Ada said reporters would be briefed after each session.

A high court in Abuja earlier granted a request by federal prosecutors that Okah and Atatah, who have been detained since their extradition from Angola in February, should be tried in camera.

Until his arrest in September last year, Okah is thought to have been Mend's main spokesperson. Little however is known of Atatah's alleged activities.

Mend has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks against oil companies and government targets in the past two years.

In an e-mail statement to AFP, the group said it was disappointed but not surprised at the ruling. "We expect that his lawyers will contest this absurd ruling in the appeal court," it said.

The court fixed June 10 as next hearing.

- AFP