Nigerian troops on Saturday prevented the return home of a rebel leader from the oil-rich Niger Delta, where unrest sent world crude prices soaring this week, the day after the rebels reached a cease-fire deal with the government.
Mujahid Dokubo Asari, leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), had earlier told reporters his group had no quarrel with multinationals operating in the region.
"We have no problem with the oil companies as long as the federal government meets our demands," he said after arriving back in the delta following the signing of a cease-fire deal with the government and a rival rebel group.
The rebels threatened earlier this week to go to war if their demands for a bigger slice of Nigeria's oil wealth, greater autonomy for the Ijaw people - the delta's eight-million strong dominant tribe - and a national debate on Nigeria's problems were not met.
Asari and Ateke Tom, leader of the rival Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV) group, both signed the cease-fire deal late on Friday, in which they promised to disband all militias and militant groups and to "totally disarm", according to a statement from the president's office.
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