Nigerian rebel leader Henry Okah has agreed to the terms of a government amnesty program and his lawyers said they would meet President Umaru Yar'Adua to discuss a timetable for his release.

The release of Okah, suspected leader of Nigeria's most prominent militant group, would raise hopes some rebels would lay down their arms and halt an offensive in the Niger Delta, heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas sector.

The deal is a sharp turnaround from the situation two weeks ago, when militants in the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) seemed to ignore the amnesty offer and launched a new attack on facilities owned by oil multinational Shell. The company's Forcados offshore platform in Delta State was destroyed. It was the 11th attack on Nigeria's oil infrastructure in less than a month.

The amnesty plan announced by Yar'Adua in June provided a 60-day window for militants to lay down their arms to benefit from government's post-conflict offer, which includes rehabilitation and retraining.

"Terms of the amnesty have been settled. The agreement we are going to discuss (with the president) is the timeline for his release," one of Okah's lawyers, Wilson Ajuwa, said by telephone.

He said Okah, who has been facing charges of gun-running and treason, could be freed immediately after more than a year in detention.

"We are fighting for the preservation of our client's life and extraction from jail. We will do everything possible to achieve that," Ajuwa said.

Okah's deteriorating health has been a growing concern for his lawyers, who have repeatedly requested that he be flown overseas for treatment.

The rebel leader was arrested in Angola in September 2007 and extradited to Nigeria.

(China Daily via agencies July 13, 2009)