Lawyers for Nigeria’s most prominent militant leader sought on Friday to have his trial moved to a court in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where most of the crimes he is accused of are said to have taken place.
The trial for gun-running and treason of Henry Okah, the suspected leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), is being closely followed by armed gangs in the region, home to Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry.
MEND, whose attacks on oil installations in the delta have cut Nigeria’s oil output by around a fifth over the past three years, has said it will hold two British oil workers kidnapped more than four months ago until Okah is freed.
“The federal court division (in Jos) does not have jurisdiction to entertain this case,” Femi Falana, a member of Okah’s defence team, told reporters after the hearing in Jos.
“If the case is to continue, it should be transferred.”
Okah’s defence team said the case should be heard in Bayelsa, one of three main states in the Niger Delta.
The judge agreed to review the request and adjourned the case to Feb. 13.
Okah, who could face the death penalty if convicted, has denied any wrongdoing. He was arrested in Angola more than a year ago and extradited to Nigeria. His trial has been delayed repeatedly on legal wrangling and questions over the 43-year-old’s health.
Defence lawyers have said Okah desperately needs medical treatment for a kidney ailment. But prosecutors believe he is fit enough to stand trial.