A Nigerian militant suspected as being a leader of the rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, faces terrorism charges in a South African court. The charges relate to bombings during Nigeria's independence day celebrations last Friday.
South African prosecutors brought terrorism charges against Nigerian militant leader Henry Okah at a court in Johannesburg on Monday.
Okah is charged with masterminding a deadly bomb blast that killed at least 10 people during Nigeria's recent 50th anniversary of independence celebrations.
Now living in South Africa, he denies the charges.
Nigeria's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, have claimed responsibility for the blast.
Security experts believe Okah was at one time the brains behind MEND, although he has denied ever being its leader.
MEND carried out attacks on oilfields and pipelines in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry, for years until accepting an amnesty in 2009.
It has said it is fighting for a fairer share of the natural wealth for the vast wetlands region, whose villages remain mired in poverty despite five decades of crude oil extraction.
Unrest in the Niger Delta has cost Nigeria one billion US dollars a month in lost revenues, according to the country's central bank.
