News blackout on Nigeria oil rebel raises tensions

ABUJA, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Militants in Nigeria’s oil producing Niger Delta have been angered by the government’s failure to give more news of detained rebel leader Henry Okah and the issue could cause more violence and derail peace talks.

The president’s spokesman said on Tuesday night Okah was alive and in safe custody, dismissing an earlier report from the rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) that he had been shot dead during interrogation.


But the spokesman and other government officials have declined to give any other details about where Okah is, whether he is in good health and what authorities plan to do with him.

“I have not heard anything, which is very disturbing. They should acknowledge where he is and tell us if he is OK,” said a close relative of Okah, who did not wish to be named.

Reuters