South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal will on Wednesday, November 26 hear the appeal of convicted leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah, regarding the jurisdiction of a South African court to try him in the first place.
Mr Okah was convicted of a 13-count charge of terrorism, related to the bombings at the Eagles Square in Abuja as well as another in Warri, which left a number of casualties in 2010.
Judge Neels Claasen of the South Gauteng High Court sentenced him to 24 years in prison early last year.
In November of the same year, he failed in his bid to appeal against the merits of the case but was granted leave to appeal against certain aspects of the case.
The 3-point application sought leave to appeal against the jurisdiction of the court to hear counts 1-12, duplication of charges with regard to counts 3 to 8 as well as his conviction on count 13 regarding his allegedly threatening to engage in terrorist activity.
Judge Neels Claassen granted leave to the applicant for the first and last points but denied leave to appeal the aspect of duplication of charges.
