2007年VOA标准英语-Lawyer Says Detained Nigerian Rebel Leader ill

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
07 May 2007

A Nigerian defense¹ lawyer is demanding urgent medical treatment for detained Nigerian separatist leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari. Gilbert da Costa in Abuja reports for VOA that Dokubo's deteriorating² health could lead to further violence in the Niger Delta³.

 

Nigerian separatist leader Moujahid Dokubo-Asari (file photo)

Festus Keyamo, counsel to Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, the detained leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, says his client requires a thorough medical examination.

 

"Asari has been very sick in the past two weeks or thereabout. He urinates up to 50 times a day," he said. "If he drinks anything, he passes out urine immediately. Out of panic, the SSS [State Security Service] called his one doctor and their own doctor and they carried out a joint⁴ examination of him."

"They discovered that he is not diabetic. We are worried that the authorities may be doing something to him and his health. We have had information before that they may want to eliminate him before May 29," he continued.

 

Dokubo, who has been in detention⁵ since 2005, had often complained about conditions in his State Security Service cell in Abuja.

 

The secret police have ignored a court order that he be transferred to regular police custody⁶.

 

Dukobo has been charged with planning to overthrow⁷ the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo and with inciting⁸ the people of the Niger Delta to take up arms against the government over neglect and corruption⁹.

 

Some armed groups in the oil-rich region have made his release a top demand for any ceasefire.

 

Lawyer Festus Keyamo says the separatist leader's continued incarceration¹⁰ is driving the current violence in the region.

 

"It is the actions of the federal government against the militants¹¹ and especially against Asari that has made the situation to degenerate¹² in the Niger Delta," he said. "There was no issue of kidnappings and all that before. It was when they arrested Asari that kidnappings started, as a reaction to Asari's arrest and then it escalated¹³ to a thriving commercial industry."

The creeks¹⁴ and mangroves of the Niger Delta are home to Nigeria's multi-billion oil and gas industry.

 

Violent attacks on oil facilities and personnel in the region have increased dramatically in the past two years.

 

Close to 200 foreigners workers have been kidnapped, but were later released.

 

A Belarusian national and a British oil worker were abducted¹⁵ over the weekend, bringing to 28 the number of foreign workers kidnapped in the past week alone, although eight were released within hours.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

3 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

7 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

8 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 degenerate   

v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者

参考例句：

• He didn't let riches and luxury make him degenerate.他不因财富和奢华而自甘堕落。
• Will too much freedom make them degenerate?太多的自由会令他们堕落吗？

13 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

14 creeks   

n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪

参考例句：

• The prospect lies between two creeks. 矿区位于两条溪流之间。 来自辞典例句
• There was the excitement of fishing in country creeks with my grandpa on cloudy days. 有在阴雨天和姥爷一起到乡村河湾钓鱼的喜悦。 来自辞典例句

15 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。