The Adaka Boro Centre

By Randy Fabi and Hannington Osodo

ABUJA, July 14 (Reuters) - Nigerian rebel leader Henry Okah, released under a government amnesty, said on Tuesday he believed other militants would keep attacking the country's oil industry until the government began talks with them.

 President Umaru Yar'Adua has offered an amnesty programme to all militants in the hope of halting the rebel offensive, which has slashed the OPEC member's oil output and helped support global oil prices.

Okah is the first senior militant to accept the amnesty, which requires that individuals promise to lay down their arms and take part in a government programme to reintegrate them into society.

In his first interview since being released from detention on Monday, Okah said he did not believe other militants would follow his example and take the government's amnesty offer.

"For those commanders and fighters in the creeks, amnesty means nothing because the government doesn't know them," Okah said in the capital Abuja. "Why would I come out of the creeks for amnesty when you don't even know me?"

The 44-year-old said Yar'Adua's programme was the only way for him to get treatment for his kidney and ulcer problems.

"It was the only way out. I could have stayed there and died or I could have taken the amnesty and gone for treatment," Okah said. "If I was outside, I wouldn't accept it."

MORE VIOLENCE

He said MEND and other rebel groups would not stop fighting until the government starts negotiations on the problems facing the Niger Delta, the heartland of Nigeria's oil and gas sector.

 "I like to simplify things and for me, the struggle is about our land," Okah said. "We must reach an agreement with the government on that or otherwise I don't see how there can be (peace)."

MEND has welcomed talks with the government, but said it would intensify its attacks against the oil industry at the same time. Analysts say the two-pronged approach is an attempt to strengthen its negotiating position.

The militant group on Monday sabotaged an oil dock in Lagos state, killing at least five people in its first attack outside the Niger Delta since it began its latest campaign. [ID:nLD48147]

The violence has forced Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, U.S. oil major Chevron <CVX.N> and Italy's Agip <ENI.MI> to cut around 300,000 barrels per day in the last six weeks.

Okah described oil companies as "criminals" and demanded that they re-negotiate their contracts to provide a fairer share of the oil's profits to Niger Delta residents, most of whom live on less than $2 a day.

"Without these oil companies, the government had a greater will to bring justice to the people of the Niger Delta. But the government was compelled to yield to the demands of the oil companies," the soft-spoken militant said.

He said most people engaging in attacks against the oil industry, including the kidnapping of oil workers, "do not believe the effect on oil is wrong".

NOT THE LEADER OF MEND

Many believe Okah was the brains behind MEND before his arrest in Angola in September 2007 and extradition to Nigeria five months later on gun-running and treason charges. But he denies being the group's leader.

Okah said he is not sure how influential he is with militant groups after nearly 23 months in detention and was not certain what role he would play now.

Defence Minister Godwin Abbe said on Tuesday Okah had agreed to help facilitate government peace efforts in the Niger Delta.

 "Maybe now I'll be able to find out how influential I am if I have to assist the government in halting the violence," Okah said.

 Okah said he endured "very terrible" conditions during his detention in the central city of Jos, living in a windowless room without access to family, books, or television.

 He said he wants to leave Nigeria as soon as possible and live with his family and four children in Johannesburg.

 "I like living in South Africa, except if something happens that makes me have to come back. I don't think I will come back for a while," he said. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ ) (Editing by Myra MacDonald)

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