A Nigerian terror suspect jailed in South Africa fears a flow of arms into his homeland’s oil-rich Niger Delta means unrest will soon escalate, he said in a telephone interview from jail Thursday.
Henry Okah was arrested after deadly bombings in Nigeria’s capital during independence celebrations and is awaiting trial in South Africa. He has denied involvement in the attacks, and says he is not a member of the militant group the Nigerian government blames for the Oct. 1 bombings and widespread unrest in the delta.
Nigeria, one of the largest crude oil suppliers to the U.S., has seen a flare-up in the delta since the October bombings. Militant groups have claimed renewed attacks on oil infrastructure, and activists say about 150 people died in a recent military operation in the region.
“It’s going to get much worse,” Okah told The Associated Press. “The problems in the delta are still here, and as long as it remains unresolved, it will dissolve into utter chaos.”
Nigerian officials say Okah leads the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which claimed responsibility for the bombings. The group known as MEND accuses Nigeria’s government of failing to alleviate poverty in the delta, even though it is earning billions of dollars from the region’s oil. The militants have destroyed oil pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company workers and fought government troops since 2006.
“We are fighting to regain control of our region,” Okah said, adding that while he is not a member of the group he supports anyone “fighting for justice in the region.”
Okah was arrested in Johannesburg, where he has lived since last year. Last month, a Nigerian court charged Okah’s brother and three others with kidnapping expatriate workers in the delta. Okah’s brother, jailed in Nigeria, also has been charged in the October bombings.
Okah predicted a significant deterioration after next year’s presidential elections. Nigerian politicians are known for arming militants to intimidate voters in the lead-up to elections. Once the vote is over, Okah said the weapons distributed during the campaign will be used in increased violence.
“There’s a rearming of most groups in the delta now,” Okah said, denying he knew the source of the weapons.
“I wish I did,” he added. “They say it’s from me. I’m saying that’s an unreasonable conclusion.”
Okah said negotiations could resolve the crisis before violence gets out of hand, but he doubted that would happen. A government-sponsored amnesty program for militants last year was to have been a prelude to talks, but little progress has been made.
Okah said that even if talks did get off the ground, a neutral mediator would have to be brought in because the people of the delta had lost confidence in Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is also from the region.
“He’s just a weakling,” Okah said. But “you have got to negotiate with whatever government is in power.”
In 2008, Okah was arrested in Angola and extradited to Nigeria, where he was accused of treason and terrorism and linked to a gunrunning scandal involving high-ranking military officials. His arrest and trial sparked an escalation in MEND attacks.
Charges against Okah were dropped and he was freed in July 2009 as part of the amnesty program.
Okah said jail conditions in South Africa were better than in Nigeria, but accused South African authorities of “siding with the oppressor” by pursuing the case against him.
“For me to have been arrested without good reason, without any reason … it certainly smells of (Nigerian) government interference.”
Okah’s trial under South African anti-terror legislation has yet to begin. During bail hearings, prosecutors presented evidence drawn from Okah’s diaries and computer correspondence that they said bolstered accusations he was behind the October bombings. Okah was denied bail.