A Nigerian court adjourned on Tuesday the secret trial of a leading oil militant to July 7 after his lawyers argued they had not been provided with documents needed to prepare his defence, court sources said.
Henry Okah, the suspected leader of militant group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), is facing gun-running and treason charges at a federal court in the central city of Jos.
Okah, who still commands loyalty from several well-armed factions in the delta, could face the death penalty if convicted, an outcome which security sources fear would lead to a rise in attacks on Africa’s biggest oil industry.
Defence lawyers opposed a move by the prosecution to call their first witness on Tuesday. They said the case was not ready to be heard because Okah had not been given a list of witnesses and their statements against him.
“In a criminal case, the prosecution should not spring surprises,” one court source said. He asked not to be named because court officials are barred from speaking to the press.
Judge Stephen Adah, who upheld the objection, adjourned the trial to July 7 and ordered the prosecution to serve the documents properly before then.
The court had entered a not guilty plea for Okah after he refused to make a plea himself at an initial sitting on May 2.
Nigeria has said Okah’s trial must be held in camera to safeguard national security, angering militants who stepped up their violent campaign two months ago in the Niger Delta where most of Nigeria’s 2.1 million barrels per day output is pumped.
Edward Atatah, who was arrested along with Okah in Angola last September and later extradited with him, was released from detention on Monday after being discharged by the court.
MEND — which has made Okah’s freedom a condition for suspending its campaign of sabotage — said Atatah’s release showed the Nigerian authorities were on the back foot.
“We are expecting the government to swallow its pride and release Henry Okah, who is being held under similar charges without any proof to substantiate it,” the group said in an e-mailed statement on Monday.