LAGOS, Oct 2 (AFP) - Nigerian troops Saturday prevented the leader of the rebel forces in the oil-rich Niger Delta returning home, the day after he reached a ceasefire deal with the government.
Earlier Mujahid Dokubo Asari, leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), told reporters his group had no quarrel with multinationals operating in the region.
"We have no problem with the oil companies as long as the federal government meets our demands," he said after arriving back in the delta following the signing of the deal with the government and a rival rebel group.
The agreement has been seen as opening the way to a series of demands by different communities in Nigeria.
The rebels threatened earlier this week to go to war if their demands for a bigger slice of Nigeria's oil wealth, greater autonomy for the Ijaw people -- the delta's eight-million strong dominant tribe -- and a national debate on Nigeria's problems were not met.
Asari's NDPVF said on Monday it was giving oil multinationals and foreigners until Friday to leave the Niger Delta.
The warning sent oil futures soaring, and they burst through the crucial 50 dollar a barrel barrier Tuesday.
Asari and Ateke Tom, leader of the rival Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV) group, both signed the ceasefire deal late Friday, in which they promised to disband all militias and militant groups and to "totally disarm", according to a statement from the president's office.
But when Asari returned to the delta, to be welcomed at the airport at Port Harcourt by 200 supporters, he was stopped by Nigerian troops from driving to his home town of Buguma less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.
An AFP reporter at the scene said the situation was very tense, with "armed soldiers stopping anything getting through."
Asari's staff were trying to negotiate a passage through, the reporter said, while the soldiers said they had received no orders.
Asari said the deal reached after three days of talks was "a victory for my people. It is the first time the president and the government of Nigeria have recognised that the nationalities of Nigeria have the right to ask for control of natural resources and self-determination. It is a huge step forward."
According to the official statement issued afer the talks a range of diverse and complex issues was identified including "issues of the Ijaw people covering agitations for resource control and self-determination of the Ijaws within a just and equitable Nigerian Federation.
"The delegations resolve to lead processes under Mr President for the permanent resolutions of lingering conflict in the region, to have unfettered access to promote their legitimate aspiration of the people within democratic norms of fundamental rights and obligations."
Asari is calling for a sovereign national conference, something refused in the past by the government. A diplomat who did not wish to be named said that "starting to talk about self-determination for the Ijaws is tantamount to opening Pandora's box because all the other minority groups such as the Ogoni and the Igbos (Ibos), for example, would want the same thing."
The Niger Delta accounts for the bulk of Nigeria's crude oil output of 2.3 million barrels per day. Africa's largest oil exporter, with proved reserves of some 27 billion barrels, Nigeria derives more than 95 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from oil.