A leader of the militant group behind attacks on Nigeria's oil industry was released from prison Thursday, a gesture seen as a peace offering by a new government that has vowed to make the crisis a priority.Mujahid Dokubo-Asari's release was a key demand of the main militant group in the Niger Delta region, where attacks on oil installations and kidnappings of foreigners have cut Nigeria's oil production and helped raise global crude prices.
Dokubo-Asari, freed on bail, told cheering supporters who greeted him after a year and a half behind bars that he would continue to agitate for greater autonomy and oil riches for his impoverished region.
"I will continue to stand by the struggle that I have dedicated my life to," he said.
A spokesman for the militant group called Dokubo-Asari's release a "positive sign" from the government of President Umaru Yar'Adua that could hasten a negotiated peace.
The militants demand more government oil funds for their region, which is desperately poor despite its natural wealth. Attacks claimed by the group have cut oil production by about a quarter in Nigeria, Africa's top producer and a leading exporter to the United States.
After Yar'Adua's May 29 inauguration, militants said they would cease attacks for one month.
A judge granted Dokubo-Asari bail on health grounds. He was prohibited from holding or attending political rallies and required to inform the state security service of his movements.
As leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, Dokubo-Asari led a campaign for local control of oil wealth and fought battles with government troops around the oil industry hub of Port Harcourt.
He was arrested in November 2005 after saying in a newspaper interview he would work for the breakup of Nigeria.