Nigeria Militants: Okah's Freedom A Step Toward Peace

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- A spokesman for the main Nigerian militant movement said

Monday that the release of its jailed leader, Henry Okah, was a step toward

peace, if the government agrees to enter talks.

In an email, Jomo Gbomo, the pseudonym of a spokesman for the Movement for

the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, said it "considers this release as a step

towards genuine peace and prosperity if Nigeria is open to frank talks and deal

sincerely with the root issues once and for all."

The MEND spokesman had previously said the release of Okah, which was

confirmed by a court ruling Monday, was a key condition to engage with the

government. But the spokesman has also rejected a presidential amnesty, which

Okah has accepted for himself, according to his lawyers. Instead, Gbomo said he

wants peace negotiations to address issues such as oil-revenue redistribution at

the federal level.

By Benoit Faucon; Dow Jones Newswires,

Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most

important business and market news, analysis and commentary:

http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=kktFURxBDpDOv728sQJqLA%3D%3D. You can

use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.

Dow Jones Newswires