* Ex-gunmen demand payment for handing over arms * Hundreds march in protest, barricade roads * Threaten to resume bombings, pipeline attacks By Segun Owen YENAGOA, Nigeria, Sept 4 (Reuters) - About 200 Nigerian rebels on Friday threatened to resume attacks in the oil-producing Niger Delta if they are not paid for handing over their weapons as part of a federal amnesty programme. The former gunmen and their leader Ebikabowei Victor Ben, known locally as Boyloaf, agreed two weeks ago to halt fighting in return for clemency during a public ceremony in Bayelsa's state capital Yenagoa. President Umaru Yar'Adua in June offered amnesty to all gunmen in the Niger Delta to stem unrest which has prevented Nigeria from pumping much above two-thirds of its oil capacity, costing it billions of dollars a year in lost revenues. The rebels said Ben also promised them payment of as much as 10 million naira ($66,000) to surrender their machine guns, mortar bombs and gunboats, but they have yet to be paid. Ben's unarmed followers on Friday peacefully marched to the state governor's compound, where their leader is temporarily housed, to demand immediate payment. They were refused entry by dozens of armed police and forced to return to their nearby hotel in Yenagoa, where they barricaded roads and forced some businesses to shut. There were no reports of major violence or arrests. "We are Boyloaf's boys. He promised us 10 million naira each, but we have not gotten one kobo," said a protestor who gave his name as Paul Innocent. "If he refuses to pay us, we will enter the creeks again. We will go and bomb again. We will go and burst pipelines again." Ben, an ex-core commander for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), did not address the group nor could he be reached for comment. The government has promised to pay amnesty participants a stipend of 65,000 naira a month for food and living expenses for a set period of time. It was not clear whether the protestors had received this money yet. The amnesty programme appears to have exposed divisions within the militants' ranks, with some factions ready to accept the offer but MEND's spokesman warning that attacks on oil infrastructure will resume again once a ceasefire ends later this month. Security and federal officials earlier this week said three key militant leaders -- Ateke Tom, Government Tompolo and Farah Dagogo -- were in informal talks with the government and could surrender their weapons within days. [ID:nL1734389] MEND, which says it is fighting for a fairer share of the region's wealth, has branded gunmen who take amnesty as sell-outs. (Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Matthew Jones)
A body lays in the streets in Maiduguri after religious clashes in Nothern Nigeria, July 31, 2009. More than 700 people were killed during a five-day uprising by a radical Islamic ...
