The handover in Yenagoa, west of the oil city of Port Harcourt, took place after regional rebel leaders accepted an amnesty offer from the government. However a faction of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), the main rebel group, denounced the offer and said it would resume attacks. Unrest in the region has seriously affected Nigeria's oil production. The weaponry handed over on Saturday included hundreds of assault rifles, a number of rocket launchers, and at least 12 gunboats. The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Yenagoa says it is unclear how many heavy weapons have been handed over, and many of those put on display appeared to be old and rusty.The senior Mend commanders who have accepted the amnesty offer include Ebikabowei Victor Ben, also known as General Boyloaf. "So long as the government has said they will give the people what the people want, I think we have to give peace a chance and see how soon or how real they will perform," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme
| 
