The presidency is ready to offer amnesty to militants including Henry Okah. Photo: MSN

Okah accepts amnesty

Anthony Smart with REUTERS reports

July 9, 2009 08:03PM

Nigerian militant leader, Henry Okah, who is on trial for gun-running and treason, has accepted a government offer for "unconditional" amnesty, his lawyer told Reuters on Thursday.

Nigeria's president, Umaru Yar' Adua, last week ordered his interior minister to extend the amnesty offer to Okah and promised to release him if he accepted.

"They offered it to him yesterday. Okah welcomed the amnesty," one of Okah's lawyers, Wilson Ajuwa, said by telephone. "We are in the process of finalising it. Hopefully, it will be resolved early next week."

He declined to say when he expected Okah to be freed.

The release of Okah has been one of the key demands from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the country's most prominent militant group that has launched an intensified campaign of violence against the oil sector in the last six weeks.

President Yar'Adua approved the immediate release of Mr. Okah before departing for the G8 Summit in Italy.

MEND reacts

In a quick reaction, MEND through its spokesperson Jomo Gbomo welcomed the release of Mr. Okah and also welcomed the appointment of Mr. Timi Alaibe as Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta affairs. Gbomo indicated a willingness to negotiate with the federal government following today's events. The full text of the email sent to NEXT follows:

The recent appointment of Mr. Timi Alaibe as the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs by the Nigerian government is a humble and welcome development that is in line with the two pronged approach of our current campaign codenamed Hurricane Moses.

With this channel of communication finally opened, MEND will put together it's Aaron team of frank negotiators to pass our demands and expectations to the President through Mr. Alaibe, a man we respect and can work with.

MEND does not believe the current amnesty offer is directed at freedom fighters because there is no room for any form of dialogue and the issues that provoked armed agitation was never featured.

We support Henry Okah's decision to accept any deal that will ensure his early release to attend to his failing health under the current circumstances. Since he has no weapons to surrender, the deal should be a straight forward one except the government has another trick up its sleeve.

Jomo Gbomo

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Reader Comments (23)

Posted by Olu Olorunpomi on Jul 09 2009

There is no sincerity on the parts of both FG and the Okah-led MEND.

Posted by tata on Jul 09 2009

only free men can bargain...mandela knew this abiola did not...

Posted by Chxta on Jul 09 2009

@ Tata, Mandela did his time. In any event, by the time he was released, a deal had already been struck. Abiola on the other hand invited Abacha in from the comfort of his freedom in the US, then was thrown into gaol after returning to Nigeria. Olu is dead right. There is no sincerity on both sides.

Posted by tlig on Jul 09 2009

Try not mention Abiola in the same sentence as Mandela next time, cheers.

Posted by Pere on Jul 09 2009

Besides Henry Okah's amnesty and release, how many Military/JYF captured or detained ND Youths have been released to date. How do ND parents/family members know who has been released by FG/JTF/MOPOL/Military or Police. What happened to ND Youths that were detained outside the region? ND Governors don't care and don't know how many the military detained b/w 1999 to present.

Posted by tired but wiser on Jul 09 2009

So MEND supports Timi Alaibe? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. took us for a nice long ride didnt they? freedom fighters indeed. shame has shut up all armchair supporters. I weep for the Niger Delta.

Posted by tired but laughing on Jul 09 2009

Pere e doooo oh! MEND has shown thier true treacherous colors. Alaibe ke. hahahahahahahaha! I don die finish. This shows us who they are liberating the Niger Delta for. Oya can the next set of freedom fighters rise up? Bloody sellouts. Infact they arent even sellouts. They were frauds from day one.

Posted by kakadu_ay on Jul 09 2009

@ 'tired but laughing' So MEND has shown their true colours!??? Let me join you in laughing,... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ah ah ah ah! You know why I am laughing? It's because you have been colour blind all along! !! MEND's hoisted its true colour a long time, after the initial gra gra gra of 'freedom fighters' MEND... "Bloody sellouts"?..."Frauds"? now!, now!!, now!!! maybe , just maybe, their is a silver lining, now that the chicken is on its way home to roost!

Posted by tired but agreeing on Jul 09 2009

@kakadu_ay I gree say I mumu no be small. my eye no dey see colour at all. everywhere is quiet now. all those people that would commend MEND and abuse the "useless NDDC" in the same breath are quiet. imagine this kind of useless statement. how many billions did this man run thru? if someone tells me MEND is even IBB creation now I will believe. thank God its all clear now maybe people will take control of thier futures and stop looking for messiahs...

Posted by rocketboy on Jul 09 2009

Yeye!!! get levels ohoo...in the country of the blind,Yar Adua is King hmmmmm.

Posted by Sia Sia on Jul 09 2009

MEND supporters be patient with the group. There is something called strategy. Sometimes you have to stoop to conquer.

Posted by Pere on Jul 09 2009

Folks! Don't make assumptions about Alaibe and MEND. Yara Adua/PDP appointed Alaibe for a reason which could be an attempt to establish communication channel with the freedom fighters. It does not mean anything. Afterall, PDP appointed Alaibi as MD of NDDC in the past. Wait and see. We ask Yara/Military/JTF about the number of ND indigenes in custody? how may have been detained or executed by the military? Henry Okah is not the first or last detained militant or youth in ND. Think and ask proper questions.

Posted by labalaba on Jul 10 2009

Nigerians are ever in a hurry! MEND a sell-out? All of you harbouring that conclusion should go home and wash your heads because you have 'home trouble'. These guys have been in the trenches since the 60s and the only thing you can offer is to run your mouths like diarrhoea. What support have you accorded Mrs Okah since Henry was detained? The man has renal challenges and you guys are saying he should not accept the bogus amnesty? If you have been following the trend of the coded operations, with 'Moses' being the latest, and the input of eminent citizens and erudite scholars like the Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka and John P. Clark among others you wont be jiving like the "olo fofos" that you are. Give these guys a break and let us hear their demands. MEND be rest assured that men and women of reason are with you. Jaw jaw is the most sensible option with the Aaron Team for now. Most Nigerians are simpletons and are mentally retarded as a result of poverty.

Posted by Pere on Jul 10 2009

Fine. But what happened to all the Youths/militants the military or JTF/MOPOL detained or arrested in ND region and were shipped to remote locations outside ND. Extra judicial killings? how rampart is it? FG/PDP leadership should provide answers to all detainees. How many militants/Youths has FG/PDP/Yara Adua released? Henry Okah is one person only. We are talking about hundreds of Ijaw youths and other minorities forcefully detained by the Military in secret locations around the country. Okah is not Mandela or Abiola. Yara Adua/PDP, more ND Youths have been missing or executed by JTF/Military/MOPOL and we want an Int'l investigation.

Posted by Tonye Hart on Jul 10 2009

I thought MEND just gave meaningless code names for their operations like the JTF until i googled Piper Alpha. When I read the analysis of Hurricane Moses, I realised that they have a carefully planned out strategy. Let us watch and see. They promised to talk and carry out attacks that increase in intensity. Why? because that worked against Pharaoh and can happen here. This is all an interesting chess tournament, so let us watch as the game progresses.

Posted by amazed on Jul 10 2009

What strategy? MEND praised Mr Alaibe in glowing terms. We have all been duped. This is 419 freedom fighting and we have been the mugus. Only in Nigeria. Its time for a real movement for change.

Posted by Tired on Jul 10 2009

labalaba said "Most Nigerians are simpletons and are mentally retarded as a result of poverty". Imagine such a comment. Yes this is obviously what you and your MEND cronies believe. You feel we are fools to be milked dry. Game over.

Posted by JointHeir on Jul 10 2009

You are all waiting to see what would come out of all these abi? But there is ONE person that has been at the end waiting for all of you. You blame people for your problems, you blame Niger Delta for the country's problem, you blame your wives for the wayward child, you blame your husband for economic meltdown, you blame God for creating you, etc. You always have somebody to blame; but I tell you, you are the problem. Every body is a contributor to the woes of this nation. Have you all considered the fact that the universe is interconnected, there is no isolation; what you do transcends to your neighbor. What you think in your heart affects the next person close to you. If you are hateful, it affects somebody, it is not isolated. If you lie it creates a collective effect on the leaders to also lie to you. God is not mocked, what you sow you shall reap. The nation has sown evil seed of injustice and greed, it's also reaping it at this time. MEND is not to blame, the leaders is not to blame, but me and you are to blame for accepting to do nothing about the evil around us(homes, streets, towns). We prefer to obey the rules of Government than to obey the voice of the ONE that created everything. Dont you know that all the laws of the Govt are part of the Ultimate law? The Ultimate law is Love the LORD with all thy heart, then you shall also be able to love your neighbor. And when you love your neighbor you shall not do him harm. You shall be equitable, just and fair. Turn unto Jesus wholely and practice all that He says on the individual level and the whole nation would be cleansed through the families. God bless all that would yield to HIM. AMEN.

Posted by ben on Jul 10 2009

hahahaha..something fishy is happening somewhere..let keep our fingers cross and watch as events will unfolds it self..

Posted by Udenwe .ebonyi state on Jul 10 2009

Jomo gbomo and his likes should follow the footsteps of other militant leaders who accepted amnesty of the federal government for interest of peace and development of niger delta and nigeria. God will nigeria one

Posted by Pere on Jul 10 2009

Guys, don't waste ur previous time venting anger in this medium. MEND knows what, how, when to deal with Yara Adua/PDP/FG amnesty and the core issues of ND. We should rather ask Yara Adua/PDP FG, what happened to all the boys the Military/JTF/MOPOL detained or arrested in Rivers State, Bayelsa State, Delta State b/w 1999 to date? Henry Okah is a single man. What happened to the rest? how many has Sarkin Bello/Abubakar/gen Abbe released from military detention? Somebody got to answer this question from the Amnesty Committee. Extra judicail killings? If so. how do we move forward to pacify the families under the amnesty program. Remember the Argentine military junta civilian killings?

Posted by sanusi on Jul 10 2009

Olorunpomi has started that empty and meaningless stance of moral equivalence between good and evil. How can any sane person blame the victim for the crimes of the oppressor? wake up man!

Posted by Donperion on Jul 10 2009

Tis jst a waste of time. Let's stop being optimistic pls!!!There is no end to this conflict in the Niger Delta, whether Okah gets amnesty o oo or bail, na lie! Violence will continue as long as there is oil in the region and our northern brothers are still in power. Shi kena!!