Nigeria bomb blasts: Media mogul released

  1. Posted on Tuesday 5 October 2010 - 15:40
    Samuel
    Image of Samuel
    Samuel Okocha, AfricaNews reporter in Lagos, Nigeria
    Nigerian media mogul, Raymond Dopkesi who was earlier arrested for links with the bombings during Nigeria's golden jubilee celebration in the capital, Abuja has been released.
    Nigeria car explosion
    The owner of Daar Communications and Director-General of the campaign group of presidential aspirant and Nigeria's former military head of state Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, was released without charge after reports of telephone communication with suspects held in connection with the bomb blasts in Abuja.

    "He was released last night" Hauwa Ali, a broadcast journalist based in Nigeria's capital, Abuja confirmed.

    MEND leader makes claims

    The news of Dopkesi's release came as leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta MEND reportedly said he was arrested because he refused to tell MEND to retract statements claiming responsibility for the Abuja bombings.

    "On Saturday morning, just a day after the attack, a very close associate of President Jonathan called me and explained to me that there had been a bombing in Nigeria and that President Jonathan wanted me to reach out to the group, Mend, and get them to retract the earlier statement they had issued claiming the attacks," Henry Okah who is currently held in South Africa told Aljazeera.

    "They wanted to blame the attacks on northerners who are trying to fight against him [Jonathan] to come back as president and if this was done, I was not going to have any problems with the South African government.

    "I declined to do this and a few hours later I was arrested. It was based on their belief that I was going to do that that Jonathan issued a statement saying that Mend did not carry out the attack," Aljazeera quoted Okah as saying.

    Reaction

    But a journalist with Voice of Nigeria has described Okah's statements as unfounded. She said the president associate couldn't have made such an overture to Okah, "certainly not from the president."

    "If anybody approached him (Okah) to do that it can't President Jonathan...he will be too foolish to do that," Rita said. She added that if indeed the MEND leader was approached by an associate of the president, he must have acted strictly on his own.

    She said MEND was yet to claim responsibility for the blasts and added there was no basis for the claim by the ex-militant leader.

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