Johannesburg , South Africa ( CNN ) -- A Niger Delta leader arrested in South Africa after a bombing in Nigeria will be held separately from other prisoners until a bail hearing next week , his lawyer said Tuesday . A judge in Johannesburg court ruled Tuesday that Henry Okah will have his bail hearing October 14 , said attorney Rudi Krause . `` The prosecution has indicated they plan to oppose his release on bail , but I am confident our application will be successful , '' said Krause , who wanted Okah separated from the general prison population for his safety . Charged in South Africa under terrorism legislation , Okah is suspected of being a leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta , known as MEND , which took responsibility for the bombings that killed 12 and injured 50 in Nigeria 's capital , Abuja , on Friday . The bombings came as the West African country celebrated 50 years of independence . MEND issued a statement Saturday saying it had given the Nigerian government advance warning and blamed the government for the deaths . The Nigerian Intelligence Service said Monday that nine people have been arrested and they were being questioned in connection with the blasts . Authorities are still seeking two men , identified as Chima Orlu and Ben Jessy , whom they accuse of being the `` masterminds '' of the plot . Sources close to MEND told CNN that the two men are `` not known to be MEND operatives or known to be active on the Niger Delta issue . '' They also raised concerns about the nine other arrests , calling them an `` attempt by the Nigerian government to be seen to act . '' Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed Andrew Azazi , his former chief of defense staff , to be the country 's national security adviser in the wake of the bombings , Jonathan 's office told CNN on Monday . Jonathan later called the action a terrorist attack that was designed to `` disrupt '' the anniversary , presidential spokesman Imo Niboro said . But he said it had nothing to do with Niger Delta issues or MEND . MEND , which represents militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta , is an umbrella organization of several rebel groups . It has been battling the government for years over fairer distribution of the country 's oil wealth . MEND said Okah had been harassed by authorities in South Africa , where he lives , but denied his involvement . `` Okah has never been involved in any MEND operations but has always been blamed for every attack , which is strange to us , '' MEND 's statement said . MEND said the `` irresponsible attitude of the government security forces is to blame for the loss of lives . '' `` The security forces were also warned one full hour to the first bomb blast ahead of the general alert sent to the media and told to steer the public from all parked cars which was not done , '' the group said in a statement . CNN 's Nima Elbagir contributed to this report .
NEW : Henry Okah to be apart from other prisoners until the hearing . MEND , which claims responsibility , says it gave the government details of bombings . The government says the attack was an attempt to disrupt the celebrations .