Ahead the arraignment of the detained leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Mr. Henry Okah, and one Edward Attata for treason before a Federal high court, Abuja, indications emerged yesterday that the Federal Government is planning to use Alhaji Asari Dokubo as its star prosecution witness to nail the MEND leader.
A top official in the Federal Ministry of Justice who spoke with Vanguard yesterday on the condition of anonymity on the issue however added that the Attorney-General of the Federation might enter nolle prosequi in court with respect to the treason charge pending against Dokubo.
The source however did not disclose whether Dokubo had indeed agreed to testify against his brother, Henry Okah, in court and whether the militia leader had already made a statement to the SSS to warrant the idea of making him the government’s star prosecution witness.
It would be recalled that the Director of Public Prosecution in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Salihu Aliyu, had, few weeks back, hinted that the government had filed a 14-count treason charge against Henry Okah and one Edward Attatah.
He had said that the duo would soon be arraigned in court. Although Vanguard confirmed that the charge had indeed been filed before the Abuja Federal high court, no date has been fixed for the arraignment of the accused persons.
It is not clear whether the on-going Easter break for judges or and the mass transfer of the judicial officers in the Abuja division of the high court is (are) the cause of the delay in fixing a date for the accused persons’ arraignment.
In the charge preferred against the duo of Okah and Attatah, the government is linking them to the missing arms at the Nigerian Army Ordinance depot in Kaduna.
According to the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Salihu Aliyu, he said that Okah bought over 6000 assorted rifles ammunition from some military officers who are currently in detention for missing arms at the Nigerian Army Ordinance depot in Kaduna. Aliyu alleged that the accused persons supplied the weapons to Militant groups in the Niger Delta with the intention to intimidate and overawe the federal government.
The Prosecutor said that Okah and his co-accused were arrested last year in Angola while trying to buy a Korean shipping vessel worth US $670,000 for the purpose of transporting weapons to militant groups in the Niger delta.
If convicted, Okah and Atatah risk death penalty. Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, is defending the detained MEND leaders in court. Niger Delta militants have made Okah’s release one of their conditions for ending attacks on oil installations and workers.
But their activities continued even after the government met their demands for the liberation of other leaders.