Nigeria militant leader accepts govt's amnesty terms

Xinhua | Updated: 2009-07-12 16:16

LAGOS: Jailed Nigerian militant leader Henry Okah has accepted the terms of the amnesty offered by the government last month, reports said Sunday.

Reuters quoted one of the militant leader's lawyers as saying that Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua will meet Okah on Sunday to have a detailed discussion.

Okah is the leader of the major militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which has launched an intensified campaign of violence against the oil sector in the last six weeks.

The militant leader is on trial for gun-running and treason after being arrested in Angola in 2007 and his release has been one of the key demands from the group.

But details of his release still needed to be worked out.

Last month, the Nigerian government announced an amnesty for the militants in a bid to end serious unrest in the restive oil- rich Niger Delta.

The amnesty, which will take effect from August 6, offers unconditional pardon to all persons involved directly or indirectly in militant activities in the delta.

Despite the amnesty granted to Henry Okah by the federal government and his acceptance of the terms, the final order for his freedom lies with the Federal High Court in Jos, which is trying him for treason.