Dieziani Allison-Madueke Called Me Over 20 Times In Quest To Become Minister For Petroleum,Claims Henry Okah In a court Affidavit

In an affidavit to be filed in a South African court,
detained Mr. Henry Okah claims that in just the first few
days of April 2010, after Mr. Goodluck Jonathan became
Acting President of Nigeria, one Mrs. Diezani Allison-
Madueke called him over 20 times for help to become
Petroleum Minister.
In her calls, Ms. Madueke explained that she “was
competing for the post of the Minister of Petroleum with
the now Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr, Odein
Ajumogobia,” and asked for assistance “to tip the scale in
her favor.”
In the 42-page affidavit, Mr. Okah claims Mrs. Madueke
specifically asked him to speak to President Jonathan and
“put a good word for her,” furnishing him with up to date
information on the president’s availability via calls and text
messages. Mr. Okah then spoke to President Jonathan in
the early hours of April 5, 2010, he says in the affidavit,
following which Mrs. Madueke later called to thank him
for his contribution in influencing her appointment as
Minister for Petroleum.
Okah says in the affidavit that he reluctantly accepted to
speak to Ms. Madueke at the prompting of now
presidential adviser, Mr. Oronto Douglas, who, he said,
called him on April 4, 2010, saying that Ms. Diezani
Allison-Madueke was desperate to speak to him. Mr.
Douglas underlined Mrs. Madueke’s need of Okah’s
assistance in persuading President Jonathan to appoint
her Minister for Petroleum.
In March of 2010, Mr. Jonathan had sent Douglas to meet
Okah in South Africa, according to the affidavit. During
their meeting, which took place between March 31 and
April 1, Mr. Douglas informed Okah that the Northern
region of Nigeria was doing everything to prevent
Jonathan from being the president.
Mr. Okah has been in a South African Prison since
October 2, 2010. He is charged under the Terrorist Act’s
Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist
and Related Act, Act 33 of 2004. He has been denied bail
by various courts in South Africa.
Okah was linked with the 2010 Independence Day
bombing of the Eagle Square in Abuja. Okah is facing
charges that Chima Orlu, who allegedly supervised the
operation, acted under his instructions. Prosecutors allege
that he was in communication via phone and SMS with
Mr. Orlu and another co-perpetrator, Ben Jessy Ebere.
In Mr. Okah’s new affidavit, he affirms that on the day of
the bombing, he received a call from Mr. Moses Jituboh,
the Head of Personal Security to President Jonathan, who
asked him to continue to cooperate with the President. As
Mr. Okah asserted in 2010, following the bombing, Mr.
Jituboh also asked him to shift the blame of the bombing
to radical elements in the North.
Following the emergence of new facts, Mr. Okah is
reapplying for bail. In his response to new information in
his police docket that contains evidential material that will
be used in his trial. Okah is facing trial at South Gauteng
High Court that is estimated to last over 18 months.
He is pleading with the court to grant him bail because
the case against him is weak and the state cannot provide
evidential material to support their case.
The case will begin on October 1, 2012 by which time he
would have spent 2 years in jail. The State has lined up
over 50 witnesses from Nigeria to appear in court in
South Africa. Okah also plans to call over 100 witnesses in
his defense.
Source :saharareporters

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