Nigeria Militant Group Denies Leaders Accepted Govt's Amnesty

Leaders of Nigeria's main militant group haven't accepted the amnesty being offered by Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, the group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta or MEND, said Wednesday.

Talk of MEND senior commanders such as Farah Dagogo, Boyloaf and Soboma George accepting the amnesty are "orchestrated rumors being peddled by government agents and propagandists," Jomo Gbomo, MEND spokesman, said in a statement.

He said MEND's oil war would continue in the Niger Delta, where the movement has attacked in recent days facilities belonging to Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), Chevron Corp (CVX) and Agip SpA - a unit of ENI SpA (E).

In April, Yar'Adua said amnesty would be granted to those militants who laid down their arms and embraced peace, and he set up a committee to work out the terms of the amnesty.

He is expected to announce details of the amnesty Thursday after a meeting of Nigeria's Council of States, which is made up of former heads of state, governors of the country's 36 states and other senior officials.

MEND had said it wouldn't accept the amnesty after Ateke Tom, a leader in a different militant group, said he might accept it if the conditions were right.

MEND says it is fighting for a greater share of the oil income for the residents in the Niger Delta, where nearly all of Nigeria's crude oil is explored by major international oil companies.

-By Obafemi Oredein, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 2 234 7510489

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