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Sep 25, 2009

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria intends to keep its October 4 amnesty deadline, the defence minister said, rejecting a request from rebel leaders in the oil-producing Niger Delta for more time for peace talks before handing over their arms.

President Umaru Yar'Adua has offered an unconditional pardon to militants who give up arms by the deadline, the most serious attempt yet to resolve years of unrest which has prevented Nigeria from pumping above two-thirds of its oil capacity.

But rebel leaders Ateke Tom and Government Tompolo, who are commanders in the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), urged Abuja last week to extend the deadline by three months to allow for dialogue on demands including a partial withdrawal of military forces from the area.

"To all those in doubt, the deadline for amnesty is Sunday, October 4, and the government does not intend to extend it," Defence Minister Godwin Abbe told amnesty participants at a ceremony in Nigeria's oil hub Port Harcourt on Thursday.

"Anybody or group of militants who fail to surrender their arms after the expiration of the amnesty period will be on his own after the October 4 deadline," he added.

MEND, responsible for attacks that have wrought havoc on Africa's biggest energy industry over the last three years, extended a two-month-old ceasefire last week by 30 days.

The militant group said it would allow more time for talks but threatened attacks on the oil industry if substantive negotiations were not held.