OKRIKA, Nigeria (AFP) - Ateke Tom, a warlord, who battled another gang for supremacy over Nigeria's oil wealth located in the restive Niger delta, preached a new message of peace to his teeming supporters.
"Peace is necessary for development. We can only free our people from the shackles of poverty under a peaceful atmosphere," the factional rebel leader said during a rally here.
Dressed in a white sports T-shirt and white trousers and accompanied by hordes of aides, Tom was cheered by dozens of jubilant supporters and villagers.
Many motorists and motor-cyclists parked their vehicles as a mark of respect for a man they worship as a god. Men and women, young and old, bowed and were prostrate on the ground as Tom made his way through the crowd.
As he gave his speech, a group of stern-looking and gun-wielding policemen and soldiers looked on, in apparent approval of the event.
There was much drumming, dancing and singing by a cultural group in the town. Some of them had "Ateke wants peace" written on their almost naked bodies.
The rally, the first in a series, was organised to mark the end of hostilities between Ateke Tom's group -- Niger Delta Vigilante Service -- and the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, led by arch rival Mujahid Dokubo Asari.
"We will hold a similar peace rally in Port Harcourt and other places. I will go to Buguma to meet my brother, Asari and he will also come here to pay me a visit," Tom said.
"We thank Obasanjo for his prompt intervention to restore peace to Rivers State. We will never allow this ugly incident to repeat itself," he said, referring to Friday's ceasefire and disarmament deal in Abuja.
The two gangs signed the agreement, brokered by President Olusegun Obasanjo, to sheath their swords after months of violence for the control of oil in the region.
Asari had made a similar pledge during a rally at Amadi-Ama on the outskirts of Port Harcourt, the hub of Nigeria's oil industry, on Sunday.
"Ateke is our brother, our son. He has regretted for allowing himself to be used by enemies of the Ijaw nation and we have forgiven him," he told the gathering.
"He has dropped his guns and we have dropped ours. If picks the guns again, we will pick ours," he warned.
A community leader in Okrika commended the peace initiative of the two Ijaw members.
"Both of them are our sons. I am sure there was a misunderstanding somewhere. But now that they have agreed to work together, we will support them as a people," Tamunoseipirbie Kiri told AFP.
Some 500 people were killed and many more injured in Port Harcourt and its environs in August following fighting between the two armed groups, Amnesty International said in a report.
The unrest raised concerns about oil supplies from Nigeria, causing prices to reach an all-time high of 50 dollars last week.
Most of the 2.5 million barrels produced daily by Nigeria, fifth largest oil supplier to the United States, comes from the Niger Delta.