Henry Okah, a Nigerian militant leader currently serving a 24-year sentence in South Africa, has launched a legal battle to stop what he describes as unlawful attempts to grant him parole and deport him to Nigeria.
The court case, registered under number 2025-038124, is scheduled for hearing at the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria. Respondents named in the filing include the Department of Home Affairs, the Zonderwater Parole Board, the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the Minister of Correctional Services, and the Minister of Justice.
Okah’s application seeks to interdict the defendants from taking any steps towards his release or deportation, asserting that he neither applied for parole nor meets the legal requirements under South Africa’s Correctional Services Act No. 111 of 1998. He is also seeking protection from any attempt to forcibly affix his fingerprints to documents or to detain him on immigration grounds.
In detail, Okah requests the court to restrain the defendants from:
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Recommending his release on parole, as he has not applied for such.
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Granting parole contravenes Section 45(1) of the Correctional Services Act and other applicable provisions.
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Forcibly taking his fingerprints in the absence of a court order.
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Arresting or detaining him for alleged unlawful presence in the Republic.
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Initiating or facilitating his transfer to Nigeria or any other country.
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Re-arresting or detaining him upon potential release by the Constitutional Court based on uncharged allegations.
Okah argues that his conviction—stemming from his alleged involvement in two car bomb attacks in Nigeria in 2020—was based on an unlawful arrest and a flawed judicial process. He was convicted for leading the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a group that claimed responsibility for the attacks.
He has now applied to South Africa’s Constitutional Court for a review of the legality of his arrest, trial, and conviction, which he contends were contrary to the provisions of the law.
Download a copy of the court filing here:
Copy of Henry Okah's Court Filing
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