Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ABUJA1278
2009-07-14 16:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abuja
Cable title:  

NIGERIA: MEND "LEADER" HENRY OKAH ACCEPTS AMNESTY

Tags:  PREL PGOV NI 
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DE RUEHUJA #1278/01 1951624
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P 141624Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6536
INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 1641
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1994
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RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001278 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: MEND "LEADER" HENRY OKAH ACCEPTS AMNESTY
BUT DOES NOT MEAN MUCH

REF: A. LAGOS 297

B. ABUJA 1226 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001278

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: MEND "LEADER" HENRY OKAH ACCEPTS AMNESTY
BUT DOES NOT MEAN MUCH

REF: A. LAGOS 297

B. ABUJA 1226 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Henry Okah, sometimes described as "leader"
of the Niger Delta "militant" umbrella organization, the
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND),who
was on trial for treason and weapons trafficking, accepted
President Yar'Adua's offer of amnesty, and was released from
nearly 18 months of jail in Nigeria on July 13, 2009. Okah
is the first well-known "militant leader" to accept amnesty
from the GON. President Yar'Adua expressed his satisfaction
with this development through his spokesman Segun Adeniyi, on
the margins of the G-8 Summit meeting in L'Aquila, Italy.
However, other "militant" leaders offered a different view,
mainly opposition to Yar'Adua's amnesty offer, or seeking
better terms within the amnesty offer, as evidenced most
clearly by continued attacks on oil facilities and other
threats of violence immediately following Okah's release. We
continue to doubt that the amnesty offer, on its own, will
lead anywhere as no clear or accepted political framework to
resolve the region's issues has been developed. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On July 9, Henry Okah accepted President Yar'Adua's
offer of amnesty to all those associated with "militant"
activity in the Niger Delta who agreed to lay down their arms
by October 4. He was released from custody late on July 13.
Okah has been held in prison for nearly 18 months and was
facing trial by the GON for gun smuggling. On July 9,
however, other MEND "leaders" rejected an immediate cease
fire in its ongoing hostilities with the the Nigerian
military's Joint Task Force (JTF) and instead intensified
their campaign. In addition, MEND took responsiblity for an
attack late on July 12 on the Atlas Cove Jetty in Lagos
harbor (see ref A),which caused an undetermined amount of
damage and reportedly killed five people, mostly Nigerian
navy personnel protecting the installation. (Note: Most of
MEND's past activities since 2006 have been confined to the
Niger Delta states of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, hundreds of
kilometers from Lagos. End note.)



3. (SBU) Government Ekpemupolo (aka "Tom Polo"),another key
"militant" leader, rejected the amnesty policy and maintained
that Okah's release had no connection to his continued
operations. In addition, purported MEND spokesperson "Jomo
Gbomo" issued a statement on July 13 that began with praise
for language in President Obama's Ghana speech about corrupt
leaders who exploit their countries for self-enrichment, and
ended with a biblical warning that "The mother of all plagues
will be used as a last resort if the Nigerian Pharaohs show
stubbornness over reasoning just as Moses did with the plague
on the firstborn in ancient Egypt and the Americans with the
plague of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki."


4. (C) Okah's lead counsel, Femi Falana, told Lagos Poloff on
July 9 that Okah is suffering from kidney failure, a
presumably major factor in his decision to accept the offer
of amnesty. On July 13, Falana told Lagos Poloff that, after
Okah's release by the court, all pending criminal charges
against him were withdrawn. Falana said Attorney General
Aondoakaa appeared in court on July 13 to "personally
demonstrate the Government,s intent to work with Okah to
help restore law and order in the Niger Delta." Falana also
postured that the attack in Lagos was executed to
"demonstrate MEND,s lack of confidence that the Federal
Government would uphold its agreement to provide
unconditional amnesty." He added that "the 'militants'
wanted to speed Okah,s release and the attack was to
emphasize the urgency of his medical condition." Falana
suggested that the attack is "a success" for MEND since the
Government immediately responded in Okah,s favor.


5. (C) COMMENT: We strongly doubt that the Lagos attack was
timed to speed up Okah's release, since it was already clear
from last week that the release was imminent. Knowledgable
observers believe the claim that Okah was the "leader" of
MEND was always an exaggeration; moreover, he has been out of

ABUJA 00001278 002 OF 002


circulation for almost two years, leading us to question
whether he still has much influence over other prominent
"militant" figures. Much of his support stems from family
and a small circle of friends, and many of his previous
followers moved to other commanders during his two year
absence. We therefore doubt that Okah's amnesty will have
much of an impact on the ongoing level of violence by
"militants" in the Delta. We also question whether the
amnesty proposal will have much real impact on its own. Most
"militants" do not need amnesty if they wish to abandon
militancy; they can go home any time. The problem is that
the deprivations of previous decades have left them little to
go home to. Until the GON focuses on the core problems of
the region, such as decades of neglect, large-scale
corruption, environmental degredation, and criminality, the
troubles in the Delta are likely to persist. END COMMENT.


6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos.
SANDERS