Nigerian government asked to ‘urgently’ release Henry Okah

The Convener of the Niger Delta People’s Congress, Chief Mike Loyibo, has demanded the immediate release of Henry Okah and several others incarcerated in connection with the October 1, 2010 Abuja bombings.
Okah is currently serving a 24-year jail term in South Africa for allegedly masterminding a series of terror attacks, including the twin bombings which killed 12 people in Abuja during Independence Day celebrations in 2010.

His younger brother, Charles Okah, is being held in Kuje Prison over the same crime.
Loyibo told newsmen in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Thursday, that the Federal Government should consider political solution in the interest of sustainable peace and justice.
The Niger Delta leader stated, ‘’We want a robust approach to a sustainable peace in the region. The Federal Government should take advantage of the ongoing process to heal wounds and ensure justice for all stakeholders.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria should consider as a matter of urgency and goodwill, a political solution to resolve once and for all, the continued incarceration of Henry Okah and several other persons following the trumped up charges of treason and terrorism brought against them by the government in the aftermath of the October 1, 2010 bombings in Abuja.

“You can imagine Charles Okah has not been convicted, yet he has been in prison for more than four years. ‘But look at Nnamdi Kanu of the Independent People of Biafra, he was granted bail, why will Charles Okah not be granted bail? You granted bail to Kanu, why can’t you grant bail to Charles Okah too? Henry Okah is in faraway South Africa suffering for no reason.
“The government gave amnesty to our people. If people were given amnesty, whatever they (militants or agitators) did during that period, amnesty proclamation should cover them.’