http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5628394-146/exclusive_okah_calls_next__.csp
EXCLUSIVE: Okah calls NEXT
>
By Ayo Okulaja and Cheta Nwanze
October 8, 2010 05:12PM
print email


A man purporting to be Henry Okah has called NEXT, saying it is important to set the record straight.

In a telephone interview from a South African number, the man said government’s efforts to discredit the Al-Jazeera interview is what partly prompted his call to NEXT. In order to authenticate his identity, the man asked for, by name, some of the NEXT reporters Mr. Okah had spoken with in the past.

When asked how it is possible for him to make phone calls from jail, he replied: “this is a civilised country. I can make calls anytime I want to. I am aware of efforts by the federal government to debunk my phone conversation with Al-Jazeera as a hoax, and to dispel this, I am going to talk to the BBC and CNN tomorrow.”

The presidency had raised doubts about the previous interview reportedly granted to Al Jazeera by Okah. They also completely dismissed allegations that a presidential aide had asked Mr. Okah to implicate Northerners in the Abuja bombings.

The phone call to NEXT, which lasted for five minutes, followed a telephone interview with Azuka, the wife of the former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah. During that chat, she promised to get in touch with her husband and arrange an interview. A few minutes later, our phone rang, and the caller introduced himself as Mr. Okah.

He reaffirmed the accusation made in the Al-Jazeera interview - that an official of the presidency did ask to him to exonerate MEND on the Abuja bombings and blame Northerners - but refused to divulge the identity of the official. He did, however, say he saved a text message from the official. He read out the purported text message: “Please, reach out to MEND and ask them to retract the statement and the government will blame the Northern elements.”

NEXT asked if his phones were not seized by the South African authorities, and he responded: “I have saved the message on another phone. Shortly after I got the text message, Dopkesi (IBB’s campaign manager) was arrested. I will not release the message now because if I do, the next thing they will say is that someone/IBB has paid him to do this. As they continue to sour my name the more, I will release the message.”

When asked if he was directly or remotely involved in the bombings in Abuja, he replied in the negative.

For detailed interview, news, and analysis on Abuja bombing, MEND, and the Niger Delta, get a copy of NEXT on Sunday.

Back